1.
10 Tips for Making
Complicated Things
Simple
Crispin Reedy
Big Design Conference 2016
#BigD2016
#makeItSimple
@crispinTX

2.
Crispin Reedy!
crispinreedy.com!
@crispinTX!
!
Voice Interaction Designer
President of @avixd

3.
“Simple” vs “Easy”

4.
hammockyucatan.com
“Easy” implies “Low Effort”

5.
hammockyucatan.com
“Simple” is not “Low Effort”

6.
robrusher

7.
wisdomtimes.com
Tip 1: Recognize that the problem exists

8.
• Writing really long detailed emails
• Blaming users / coworkers / clients
• Monologues in meetings received with silence
• Predominant feeling that “more complicated is good”
• “We need all this stuff!”
• Feeling lost in a wilderness of choices
Symptoms

9.
What’s the source?

10.
wisdomtimes.com
Tip 1: Recognize that the problem exists and you may
be causing it

11.
I’ve Got The Power!
Or Do I?
• Changing a
Complicated Thing
• Add, change, remove
functionality
• Control over the way
the thing is
developed / built
• Explaining a
Complicated Thing
• Talking about a
complex technical
topic to non-technical
users
• May not be able to
add, change, remove
functionality

12.
wisdomtimes.com
Tip 1: Recognize that the problem exists and you may
NOT be causing it

13.
cathub.tv

14.
Recognizing the problem is the start of solving the
problem

15.
Digression
So why make things simple?
And why is it so hard to do?

16.
Simplicity enables understanding
chiasmuscommunications.com

17.
Simplicity enables understanding
understandinggroup.com

18.
“There is no stronger persuasion than causing people
to understand.” - Ioan Tenner

19.
mindjofurby.wordpress.com
Simplicity and Complexity are Tools

20.
Goal:
“Just Right”

21.
So Why Is This Difficult?
• Lots of reasons! Some may be:
• Life tends towards complexity (Entropy?)
• Familiarity with complexity / Cognitive load
• Personal ego
• Unclear goals

22.
Get the Starting Point
Correct
Figure It Out For
Yourself
Teach Others
Change What You Can

23.
The Folding Chair Classical Theater Company
Tip 2: Have a goal

24.
Marcus Geldud, The Folding Chair Theater Company:
“Most people don't pair down to a single goal. !
They have multiple goals all alive at once,
some of which are in conflict with each other: !
“I want to direct a really simple production of 'Romeo
and Juliet,'
but I also don't want to bore people,
and I want the show to make money,
and I want it to get good reviews,
and I want people to think I did a really good job…””

25.
The Folding Chair Classical Theater Company
Tip 2: Have a simple, single goal

26.
It’s not just about having the goal… !
it’s about communicating the goal
understandinggroup.com

27.
Tip 2: Have a simple, single goal that can be readily
shared and articulated
berkley.edu

28.
Shared, Articulated Goal
• State the goal at the beginning of the meeting
• State the goal at the beginning of the document
• Include the goal in working notes
• Or in emails

29.
Jared Spool: Short Form
Creative Brief
• What are we working on today?
• Project Objectives
• Key Personas
• Key Scenarios
• Key Principles
https://articles.uie.com/short_form_creative_brief/

30.
Jared Spool: Short Form
Creative Brief
Read aloud at the beginning of every meeting!!
• Make sure everyone is working on the same project
• Goals are still relevant
• Establish shared understanding as team members roll on /
off the project
• Allows team to focus on the important stuff
• Reinforces the function of goals - as a tool for decision-
making
https://articles.uie.com/short_form_creative_brief/

31.
Marcus Geldud, The Folding Chair Theater Company:
“Most people don't pair down to a single goal. !
They have multiple goals all alive at once,
some of which are in conflict with each other: !
“I want to direct a really simple production of 'Romeo
and Juliet,'
but I also don't want to bore people,
and I want the show to make money,
and I want it to get good reviews,
and I want people to think I did a really good job…””

32.
Tip 3: Watch out for the ego trap
pestrevenge.com

33.
Task goals vs. ego goals in athletics
womenssportsmedicine.com

34.
Ego Goals
• I want to win
• Beat the other guy
• Be the best
• Show I am great
Sport Information Resource Center
Task Goals
• Improve my skills
• Get better from day to
day
• Learn
• Accomplish a goal
• Work hard

35.
High Ego
Orientation
Athletes
• Are overly focused on
end results
• Fragility
• Burnout risk
• Report higher levels of
anxiety and negative
coping behaviors
Schoolsites: Chris Harwood
High Task
Orientation
Athletes
• Show consistency
• Greater long term
participation
• Perception of ability tied to
improvement
• Report enjoyment,
satisfaction, intrinsic
interest, and flow at higher
rates than EO athletes

36.
So How Does This Help?
• Are your ego-oriented goals making things
complicated?
• Getting in the way of your task-oriented goals?
• Getting in the way of your flow?

37.
• fully immersed
• energized focus
• full involvement
• enjoyment in the
process

38.
Theory:
Simplicity arises
from flow

39.
Get the Starting Point
Correct
Figure It Out For
Yourself
Teach Others
Change What You Can

40.
Tip 4: Give yourself time to think about the topic
pcwallart.com

41.
Super Busy!
ClaytonBrothers

42.
Just think: The challenges of the
disengaged mind
“People seem to find any excuse they can to keep
busy,” Professor Timothy Wilson, University of
Virginia
• Majority of participants “found it unpleasant to be
alone in a room with their thoughts”
• For just 6 to 15 minutes!
• When left alone to think 64% of men and 15% of
women began self-administering electric shocks

43.
Time To Think
• Don’t be afraid to think!
• Faster doesn’t always equal better!
• Block out a window in your calendar for “Work”
• Recognize if you’re trapped in the Speed Trap
• Do you need to do less?

44.
Time To Think
“When I am slow and
reflective, thinking about
myself, who I am and
where I am, I see that I
need more than one speed.
It’s a whole different way of
thinking about success. I
need slow in order to think,
in order to protect my
judgement.”
- ‘Michael’

45.
Tip 5: Think about the material on more than one level
blog.daycos.com

46.
Levels
• 10,000 foot view
• High level overview, “Big Picture”
• Strategy, high-concepts
• “Stuff in the middle”
• Detailed view
• Absolutely everything you need to know
• Possibly so much detail it becomes difficult to find your way
around

47.
Levels
• Micro
• Person, Citizen, Couple, Family, Household
• Meso
• Clan, Tribe, Community, City, Organization, State
• Macro
• Nation, Society, Civilization, International

48.
The Maligned Middle

49.
Stuck in the Meso with You
!
• Sits between the high level view and the detailed view
• Connects them
• Possibly explains them both in a meaningful way
• Or shows the relationship between them
• Producing this level of artifact forces you to look at the material
differently
• Patterns will emerge

50.
Stuck in the Meso with You
• Medium-Level Flow charts
• Table of Contents
• Or any kinds of tables, really
• Summaries
• Outlines
• Visualizations
• Architecture Diagrams?
• Annotated Pictures

51.
cea-ace.ca
Tip 5: Think about the material on more than one level
and the “meso” stuff might be the most important

52.
theunboundedspirit.com
The Middle Path

53.
Tip 6: Get it out of your mind

54.
You have to SEE it
• Write it
• Draw it
• Diagram it
• Use colors
• Make it
• Map it

55.
Tip 6: Get it out of your mind in a different way
I usually…!
• Write it
• Draw it
• Diagram it
• Use colors
• Make it
• Map it
So switch to…!
• Draw it
• Write it
• Make it
• Use black and white
• Diagram it
• Talk about it

56.
• Change the part of the
brain you’re using
• Get yourself out of old
habits
• See the problem more
clearly
• Different relationships
may become apparent
• Shake it up: Change the
focus to different aspects
of the problem
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

57.
Tip 7: Avoid jargon / Be precise

58.
Obfuscates Reveals

59.
Reveals:!
Acronyms!
Technical Terms!
Specialized Words!
Industry-Specific!
!
SCSI!
Webservice!
Interface!
!
The word has a precise
meaning that is useful in
certain contexts
Obfuscates:!
Weasel Words!
Trendy!
Imprecise!
Abstract!
!
Optimization!
Paradigm!
Onboarding!
Recontexualize!
!
The word has different
meanings to different
people

60.
Define and TeachStop Using

61.
Get the Starting Point
Correct
Figure It Out For
Yourself
Teach Others
Change What You Can

62.
Tip 8: Take things out!

63.
The Power of Delete

64.
Complex vs.
Complicated

65.
Feature Creep

66.
Feature Creep
• User research!
• Is the feature used? If not, why?
• Consider the cost to maintain it
• Does the feature hurt the UX?
• Does the feature fit with the product strategy?

67.
Feature Creep
• How to remove?
• Inform your users
• Provide alternate methods
• Avoid adding it in the first place

68.
Courage?
bgr.com

69.
Tip 8: Take things out and reorganize

70.
khua.dvrlists.com

71.
Take Things Out And
Reorganize
• Focus on your goals
• User research!
• A/B testing
• IAs or Card Sorts
• Create a new model for a subset of users
• Migrate your user base gradually

72.
“You can’t have everything…
Where would you put it?”
- Steven Wright

73.
Get the Starting Point
Correct
Figure It Out For
Yourself
Teach Others
Change What You Can

74.
Tip 9: Teach someone else
seeklearning.com.au

75.
The Role of Explanation in Discovery and Generalization:
Evidence From Category Learning
Joseph J. Williams, Tania Lombrozo
Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley

76.
The Role of Explanation in Discovery and Generalization:
Evidence From Category Learning
Joseph J. Williams, Tania Lombrozo
Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley
• Satisfactory explanations involve generalizations
and/or underlying principles
• Explaining something to someone causes us to
find those “satisfying patterns.”
• Describing something is more beneficial for
learning item details
• Explaining anomalous observations helps us
revise our beliefs

77.
Tip 10: She Who Plans The Meeting Wins The Meeting

78.
“Winging It” Is For The Birds
• Things distributed ahead of time!
• Agenda
• Materials
• Think about what you will say
• Establish a basic meeting etiquette
• Minimize interruptions and “talk-over”
• Take notes: distribute them afterwards

79.
quickbase.intuit.com

80.
But It’s Not My Meeting!
So?

81.
Rick and Morty

82.
Get the Starting Point
Correct
Figure It Out For
Yourself
Teach Others
Change What You Can

83.
Get the Starting Point Correct
Have clear goals
Avoid ego orientation
Figure It Out For Yourself
Give yourself time
Work at different levels
Don’t forget the middle
Get it out of your head
Change modalities
Watch your words
Teach Others
Teach someone else first
Plan your meeting
Execute!
Change What You Can
Delete
Modularize
Organize

84.
“Our life is frittered away
by detail. Simplify,
simplify.” -Thoreau

85.
“The devil’s in the
details.”

86.
Bonus Tip

87.
cathub.tv

88.
Be Kind

89.
!
Thanks!!
!
!
!
crispinreedy.com!
@crispinTX