Session slides from Future Insights Live, Vegas 2015: https://futureinsightslive.com/las-vegas-2015/ Aye Moah, CPO of Baydin (Boomerang) talks about how to design web and mobile products to limit the effects of decision fatigue. Research has shown that making decisions depletes blood sugar and therefore willpower. There are four important steps to take to minimize this effect: eliminate decisions, order decisions to maximize user experience, bundle decisions together into common categories, and, finally, take advantage of randomness. This talk provides real-word examples of each of these steps and shows you how they provide better results and design better products.

1. Aye Moah | CPO
@ayemoah
Arts
and
Cra*s
Beer
Parlor
26
W
8th
St
New
York,
NY
10011
Decision Fatigue and Design
Helping users make better decisions

2. They
are
all
impacted
by
decision
faEgue.
What do car
dealerships, parole
judges and web design
have in common?

3. 2010
:
Jonathan
Levav
of
Stanford
and
Shai
Danziger
of
Ben-­‐Gurion
University
He’s
a
criminal
jusEce
researcher.
And
he
wanted
to
see
if
the
outcome
of
the
cases
is
solely
determined
by
the
facts?
What
are
the
extraneous
factors
that
are
impacEng
the
outcomes?
How
much
Eme
you’ve
already
served.
The
length
of
the
sentence
across
types
and
severity
of
offense,
previous
criminal
record
and
race
and
gender.
Extraneous
factors
in
judicial
decisions
PNAS
Apr
2011
Full
text
available
at
:
hZp://
www.pnas.org/content/108/17/6889.full
Justice is “what the judge ate for breakfast”.
Reference Paper : http://www.pnas.org/content/108/17/6889.full

4. Findings:
%
of
favorable
rulings
drops
gradually
from
≈65%
to
nearly
zero
within
each
decision
session
and
returns
abruptly
to
≈65%
a*er
a
break.
As
a
parolee,
your
chances
of
geang
your
request
approved
is
much
higher
at
the
very
beginning
of
the
work
day
or
a*er
a
food
break
than
later
in
a
session.
Image
credit
:
hZp://www.pnas.org/content/
108/17/6889.figures-­‐only
Justice is “what the judge ate for breakfast”.
Study : 8 judges in Israel over 1000 judicial rulings over 10 months.

5. A*er
a
break,
the
probability
of
geang
parole
request
goes
back
up.
Image
credit
:
hZp://www.pnas.org/content/
108/17/6889.figures-­‐only
Justice is “what the judge ate for breakfast”.
Study : 8 judges in Israel over 1000 judicial rulings over 10 months.

6. Again
a*er
a
lunch
break,
similar
paZern
happens.
Image
credit
:
hZp://www.pnas.org/content/
108/17/6889.figures-­‐only
Justice is “what the judge ate for breakfast”.
Study : 8 judges in Israel over 1000 judicial rulings over 10 months.

7. The
order
the
case
is
presented
to
the
judge
has
a
lot
more
to
do
with
whether
a
prisoner
gets
his
parole
granted.
NOT what the judge ate for breakfast.
How long it’s been since breakfast (or a food break).

8. accept
the
default.
the
safe
choice.
the
status
quo.
“Deny
the
request.”
ulEmate
energy
saver:
do
nothing.
the
explanaEon
behind
is
why
the
judges
are
making
harder
decisions
a*er
a
meal
is
linked
to
glucose
level.
It’s
physical
and
why
it’s
related
to
food
breaks.
• Every decision
depletes
willpower
• Willpower is
finite
• Lower willpower
leads to
suboptimal
decisions
More
research
on
will
power
depleEon,
self
control
and
blood
glucose
by
Galliot
and
Are the judges “hangry”?
Depletion

9. Seang
a
prisoner
free
vs.
picking
your
toothpaste
or
shampoo
A
different
study
asking
people
to
choose
which
color
pen
they
would
like
depletes
their
glucose
level
even
micro
decisions
maZer.
Magnitude
of
decisions
doesn’t
maZer..
Even
considering
and
having
to
make
‘faux’
decisions
sEll
makes
you
faEgued.
Booking
flights
Buying
a
laptop
or
any
device
with
opEons
Seang
up
a
new
account
Picking
a
restaurant

10. Geang
coffee
used
to
only
involve
“Do
I
want
coffee?
Do
I
have
5c?”

11. Now,
you
have
to
decide
what
type
of
coffee,
what
size,
what
special
flavors
you
want
to
add.
It’s
a
decision
matrix.

12. Picking
a
restaurant
now
involves
picking
which
review
site
you
want
to
trust?
How
do
you
sort/filter?
What
about
what
dish
to
order?
Why
should
you
care
if
people
are
having
decision
faEgue?
They
will
abandon
what
they
are
doing.
Cart
abandonment.
Sign
up
abandonment.
They
will
also
make
bad
decisions
and
choices
that
make
your
service/product
less
useful

13. Intro
to
personal
background.
Born
and
raised
in
Burma.
Studied
CS
at
MIT.
Worked
as
UX
designer
for
5
years.
Started
Baydin
as
a
co-­‐
founder
and
we
make
email
producEvity
tools.
Everyone
kind
of
sees
their
inboxes
as
unlimited
supply
of
decisions
to
be
made.
The
more
I
researched
about
producEvity
and
daily
habits
for
people,
the
more
decision
faEgue
keeps
coming
up.
Aye Moah -- Born and raised in Burma
Studied CS at MIT
Worked as UX Designer for 5 years
Started Baydin
Created Boomerang – Most used Gmail Plugin

14. Techniques
to
dealing
with
decision
faEgue
Eliminate
decisions
Choose
order
and
Eming
Package
many
decisions
into
one
Random
choice
Eliminate decisions
Choose order and timing
Package many decisions into one
Random choice

15. Online
daEng
has
become
easier
on
people
by
reducing
decisions
you
have
to
make
:
Going
from
okcupid
–
choosing
which
profile
to
view,
message,
set
up
a
date
to
Tinder
where
you
choose
just
yes
or
no
from
a
picture.
Now
it’s
moved
on
to
services
like
Whim
hZp://www.trywhim.com/
-­‐-­‐
even
less
decisions
Any
day
you
want
to
go
on
a
date,
Whim
gives
you
3-­‐5
algorithmically
selected
date
possibiliEes.
“You'll
review
and
say
yes/no
to
each
one.
At
6
pm
we'll
ping
you
and
one
of
the
people
you
liked,
suggesEng
a
Eme
and
place
to
meet
up
that
same
evening.”
source
:
hZp://www.dailydot.com/technology/whim-­‐
daEng-­‐app-­‐same-­‐day-­‐instant-­‐date/
Eliminate decisions

16. See
startups
doing
subscripEon
services
that
aim
to
eliminate
decisions
for
you
like
Plated
and
many
meals
in
a
box
delivery
businesses.
Eliminate decisions

17. Busy
mom
with
no
Eme
to
shop
for
your
kids’
cra*..
The
rise
of
subscripEon
boxes
is
a
way
for
really
busy
people
to
cope
with
decision
faEgue.
Eliminate decisions

18. Are
the
boxes
the
best
deal
you
can
get?
Probably
not.
They
are
probably
not
the
opEmal
buying
choices
you
can
make.
Yet
they
suffice
your
needs.
They
are
good
enough
for
you
to
get
stuff
done
and
get
your
needs
met
without
you
spending
a
ton
of
Eme.
Eliminate decisions
Satisficing : Satisfy + Suffice

19. Order
and
Eming
really
maZers
for
two
reasons.
1.
The
later
it
gets
in
the
series
of
decisions
you
have
to
make,
the
more
likely
the
user
will
accept
the
given
defaults
or
worse,
they
abandon.
So
you
should
order
major
decisions
that
maZer
early
on.
Things
that
shouldn’t
maZer
for
your
users
should
be
decided
later
and
make
sure
you
give
them
sensible
defaults.
2.
Will
power
depleEon
can
be
reversed
if
the
user
has
a
chance
to
replenish
the
reserve
somehow.
If
possible,
let
things
wait
and
don’t
bombard
your
users
to
make
all
the
decisions
right
away.
ExecuEve
funcEon
can
be
restored
and
mental
faEgue
overcome,
in
part,
by
intervenEons
such
as
viewing
scenes
of
nature
,
short
rest
,
experiencing
posiEve
mood,
and
increasing
glucose
levels
in
the
body.
Eliminate decisions
Order and timing
Package many decisions into one
Random choice

20. TwiZer
opEmizes
for
the
number
of
people
you
follow
as
their
primary
onboarding
metrics.
To
do
that,
they
want
to
know
what
topics
you’re
interested
in.
They
even
provide
a
hard
to
mess
up
default
“Popular
accounts”
already
checked
as
the
step
2
of
their
process.
So
if
you
don’t
want
to
decide
what
topics
you
care
about,
you’re
not
stuck
–
you
can
just
click
ConEnue.
Order and timing

21. Again,
already
pre-­‐selected
40
accounts
for
you
to
follow.
You
don’t
have
to
decide
anything
if
you
don’t
want
to
but
they
would
rather
you
spend
your
willpower
on
selecEng
which
accounts
you
follow
rather
than
what
profile
pic
you
use
(which
is
the
last
step
of
the
process).
Order and timing

22. This
can
be
taken
advantage
of
by
designers.
By
the
Eme
you
get
to
second
to
last
step,
you
are
starEng
to
get
Ered,
TwiZer
puts
“Invite
your
friends”
as
the
primary
default
acEon
since
you
will
have
less
willpower
to
find
a
non-­‐default
link
to
skip
that
step.
Then
at
the
very
end,
they
make
it
easy
for
you
to
start
reading
and
interacEng
with
the
product
without
forcing
to
choose
a
profile
pic
or
write
a
bio
right
away.
They
know
you’re
already
exhausted
from
choosing
topics
and
accounts
to
follow.
Order and timing

23. This
can
be
taken
advantage
of
by
designers.
By
the
Eme
you
get
to
second
to
last
step,
you
are
starEng
to
get
Ered,
TwiZer
puts
“Invite
your
friends”
as
the
primary
default
acEon
since
you
will
have
less
willpower
to
find
a
non-­‐default
link
to
skip
that
step.
Then
at
the
very
end,
they
make
it
easy
for
you
to
start
reading
and
interacEng
with
the
product
without
forcing
to
choose
a
profile
pic
or
write
a
bio
right
away.
They
know
you’re
already
exhausted
from
choosing
topics
and
accounts
to
follow.
Order and timing

24. If
you
go
to
a
car
dealership,
the
more
exhausted
by
decision
faEgue,
the
more
likely
the
buyer
is
going
to
agree
to
default
choices
provided
by
the
dealer.
This
is
where
they
get
your
money.
Source
NYT
arEcle
Do
You
Suffer
From
Decision
FaEgue?
:
hZp://www.nyEmes.com/
2011/08/21/magazine/do-­‐you-­‐suffer-­‐from-­‐
decision-­‐faEgue.html?pagewanted=all&_r=2&
“SequenEal
choices
and
the
apparent
mental
depleEon
that
they
evoke
also
increase
people's
tendency
to
simplify
decisions
by
accepEng
the
status
quo”
“German
car
buyers,
for
instance,
were
more
likely
to
accept
the
default
aZribute
level
offered
by
a
manufacturer
later
in
a
sequence
of
aZribute
decisions
than
earlier,
parEcularly
when
these
choices
followed
decisions
between
many
alternaEves
that
had
required
more
mental
resources
to
evaluate.”
Order and timing - Evil Edition

25. If
you
go
to
a
car
dealership,
the
more
exhausted
by
decision
faEgue,
the
more
likely
the
buyer
is
going
to
agree
to
default
choices
provided
by
the
dealer.
This
is
where
they
get
your
money.
Source
NYT
arEcle
Do
You
Suffer
From
Decision
FaEgue?
:
hZp://www.nyEmes.com/
2011/08/21/magazine/do-­‐you-­‐suffer-­‐from-­‐
decision-­‐faEgue.html?pagewanted=all&_r=2&
“SequenEal
choices
and
the
apparent
mental
depleEon
that
they
evoke
also
increase
people's
tendency
to
simplify
decisions
by
accepEng
the
status
quo”
“German
car
buyers,
for
instance,
were
more
likely
to
accept
the
default
aZribute
level
offered
by
a
manufacturer
later
in
a
sequence
of
aZribute
decisions
than
earlier,
parEcularly
when
these
choices
followed
decisions
between
many
alternaEves
that
had
required
more
mental
resources
to
evaluate.”
Order and timing - Profit Booster
Screen
Shot
2015-­‐05-­‐31
at
3.49.24
PM.png

26. Eliminate Decisions
Choose order and timing
Package many decisions into one
Random choice

27. Car
dealers
have
done
packaging
for
a
while
now
as
in
which
trim
of
the
car
you’d
like
to
buy.
And
packaging
many
decisions
into
one
selecEon
of
trim
and
price
point.
Package many decisions into one

28. Car
dealers
have
done
packaging
for
a
while
now
as
in
which
trim
of
the
car
you’d
like
to
buy.
And
packaging
many
decisions
into
one
selecEon
of
trim
and
price
point.
Package many decisions into one

29. Instead
of
having
to
pick
each
furniture
piece
and
their
style,
you
can
package
them
up
into
limited
choices
of
overall
style.
Image
source
:
screenshot
from
hZp://
www.havenly.com/
Package many decisions into one

30. Instead
of
having
to
pick
each
furniture
piece
and
their
style,
you
can
package
them
up
into
limited
choices
of
overall
style.
Image
source
:
screenshot
from
hZp://
www.havenly.com/
Package many decisions into one

31. Instead
of
having
to
pick
each
furniture
piece
and
their
style,
you
can
package
them
up
into
limited
choices
of
overall
style.
Image
source
:
screenshot
from
hZp://
www.havenly.com/
Package many decisions into one

32. When
you
don’t
have
anything
to
go
on,
giving
a
random
choice
as
default
saves
the
Eme
and
bother
for
your
user.
As
you
collect
more
informaEon
from
the
user
and
get
more
context,
you
can
start
providing
more
appropriate
and
beZer
informed
defaults
later
on.
Eliminate Decisions
Choose order and timing
Package many decisions into one
Random Choice

33. Image
credit
:
Paul
Thurlby
for
the
Guardian
“a
blindfolded
monkey
throwing
darts
at
a
newspaper’s
financial
pages
could
select
a
poryolio
that
would
do
as
well
as
one
carefully
selected
by
experts”
–
Burton
Malkiel
And
they
did
beat
the
market
when
it
was
simulated
in
an
experiment.
hZp://
www.cfainsEtute.org/learning/products/
publicaEons/dig/Pages/dig.v44.n1.16.aspx
Monkeys
switching
their
brains
to
random
mode
is
discussed
in
this
paper
hZp://
www.cell.com/cell/abstract/
S0092-­‐8674(14)01107-­‐6
Random Choice - Poison Oracle

34. Image
credit
:
Paul
Thurlby
for
the
Guardian
“a
blindfolded
monkey
throwing
darts
at
a
newspaper’s
financial
pages
could
select
a
poryolio
that
would
do
as
well
as
one
carefully
selected
by
experts”
–
Burton
Malkiel
And
they
did
beat
the
market
when
it
was
simulated
in
an
experiment.
hZp://
www.cfainsEtute.org/learning/products/
publicaEons/dig/Pages/dig.v44.n1.16.aspx
Monkeys
switching
their
brains
to
random
mode
is
discussed
in
this
paper
hZp://
www.cell.com/cell/abstract/
S0092-­‐8674(14)01107-­‐6
Random choice – Malkiel’s Monkey
Malkiel’s Monkey Strategy

35. This
is
not
a
new
technique.
The
ancient
Greek
tradiEon
of
filling
some
government
posiEons
by
loZery.
hZp://www.alamut.com/subj/
arEface/deadMedia/agoraMuseum.html
Random choice - Kleroterion
Kleroterion

36. When
you
don’t
have
anything
to
go
on,
giving
a
random
choice
as
default
saves
the
Eme
and
bother
for
your
user.
As
you
collect
more
informaEon
from
the
user
and
get
more
context,
you
can
start
providing
more
appropriate
and
beZer
informed
defaults
later
on.
Eliminate Decisions
Choose order and timing
Package many decisions into one
Random Choice

37. Pinterest
Sign
Up
process
2
years
ago
Image
Credit
–
useronboarding.com

38. Pinterest
sign
up
today
-­‐
image
:
screenshot
from
Pinterest.com
1. Reduced
decisions
(removed
search,
only
need
to
choose
6
categories)
2. The
topics
are
broader
(easier
for
user
to
decide
whether
he/she
loves
or
hates
it)
3. Less
scary
to
make
a
decision
if
you
can
fine
tunes
things
later
4. Use
slight
customizaEon
from
knowing
gender
to
present
somewhat
sensible
defaults
(even
if
a
bit
stereotypical)

39. Bring a piece of candy when you need to
propose a risky project to your boss!
Have questions or comments?
Twitter: @ayemoah
Thank you!