Simplicity is a frequent mantra for designers and a worthy goal. We all have been told, just make it simple; make it like Apple.
But life, well, life is infinitely complicated, and sometimes software becomes quite complex as well. So what does a well-intentioned designer do when faced with the challenges of designing for a complex system? That is the focus of this slideshare.
Beyond the Knowledge Base: Turning Data into Wisdom - an ITSM Academy WebinarKaren Skiles
Many organizations live perceiving Knowledge Management begins and ends with a Knowledge Base. However, a more robust Knowledge Management process exists. The KM process is a pipeline to Continual Service Improvement. This presentation provides insight and methods for developing and implementing a more comprehensive Knowledge Management process leading to improvement throughout the enterprise. This presentation covers design of the KM process, DIKW and its usages, the KM-CSI connection, knowledge repositories and much more.
This is the first part of a piece of work that I’m doing to define a Pattern Language for Organizations. It sets the context for a bold hypothesis – that organizations are fundamentally broken – and a candidate set of performance criteria. From here, it’s about aggregating functional patterns. I’d love your help!
Presented at Planningness 2015
Beyond the Knowledge Base: Turning Data into Wisdom - an ITSM Academy WebinarKaren Skiles
Many organizations live perceiving Knowledge Management begins and ends with a Knowledge Base. However, a more robust Knowledge Management process exists. The KM process is a pipeline to Continual Service Improvement. This presentation provides insight and methods for developing and implementing a more comprehensive Knowledge Management process leading to improvement throughout the enterprise. This presentation covers design of the KM process, DIKW and its usages, the KM-CSI connection, knowledge repositories and much more.
This is the first part of a piece of work that I’m doing to define a Pattern Language for Organizations. It sets the context for a bold hypothesis – that organizations are fundamentally broken – and a candidate set of performance criteria. From here, it’s about aggregating functional patterns. I’d love your help!
Presented at Planningness 2015
Read details here: http://clayparkerjones.com/2015/09/the-new-model-for-scaling-a-company/
The existing models have left us with dreary workplaces, deep inequality, and an erosion of human dignity. We need a new model – new performance criteria and new tools – to solve the problem of organizing humans at work.
11th paper from the BetaCodex Network, on organizational structures and how they interact. This paper was previously entitled "The 3 Structures of an Organization". It was renamed February 2013.
The Innovative Organization - New Age Organizational FormsKarthikeyan Iyer
The Innovative Organization - New-age Organizational Forms
Over the past several centuries, the hierarchical form of organization had served us well. However, the world has changed rapidly in the past few decades. Change continues to accelerate. Linear organizations tend to struggle in a non-linear environment. New forms of organizations, much more well suited to today's complex and connected world and its needs, have emrged. These are broadly classified into ambidextrous organizations, collaborative organizations, learning organizations and emergent organizations. High innovation performance requires innovative structures. Innovation is unlikely to be driven top-down in an organization in the years to come. In the increasingly decentralized emergent form of organization innovation behavior will be like DNA - all-pervasive, scale agnostic, self-repeating and evolving. This requires new topologies. Elements of social network analysis, systems thinking and chaos theory provide pointers.
Organize for Complexity, part I+II - Special Edition PaperNiels Pflaeging
The future of the Organization.
Special Edition of the BetaCodex Network´s white papers on Organizing for Complexity - two papers in one! Illustrations by Pia Steinmann
My opening keynote from Accessibility Camp Boston 2012 - where I talked about Accessibility, Design, Innovation and using accessibility as a design tool to make designs better for everyone, whether they have a disability or not.
The interfaces we're building need to work in distracting environments. And we need to figure out how to cope with users' tendency to get distracted. This presentation looks at how we might achieve that. And why, I think, it's the most serious problem facing interaction designers today.
The Complexity Curve: How to Design for Simplicity (SXSW, March 2012)Dave Hogue
Interfaces and devices are providing more and more power and functionality to people, and in many cases this additional power is accompanied by increasing complexity. Although people have more experience and are more sophisticated, it still takes time to learn new interfaces, information, and interactions. Although we are able to learn and use these often difficult interfaces, we increasingly seek and appreciate simplicity.
The Complexity Curve describes how a project moves from boundless opportunity and wonderful ideas to requirements checklists and constraints then finally (but only rarely) to simplicity and elegance. Where many projects call themselves complete when the necessary features have been included, few push forward and strive to deliver the pleasing and delightful experiences that arise from simplicity, focus, and purpose.
David M. Hogue, Ph.D. - VP of Experience Design, applied psychologist, and adjunct faculty member at San Francisco State University - introduces the Complexity Curve, discuss why our innovative ideas seem to fade over the course of a project, explain why "feature complete" is not the same as "optimal experience", and offer some methods for driving projects toward simplicity and elegance.
Comments on twitter at #SXsimplerUX
Audio available at:
http://schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_IAP13657
Essential Complexity in Systems ArchitectureMark Mishaev
In this presentation we will into real system architectures, present essential and accidental complexity and see patterns that could help us to reduce accidental complexity.
In a VUCA World – one characterized by Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity – the traditional approach of applying well-practised set of processes, methods and tools to a well understood and clearly defined problem simply doesn’t work. Adaptive challenges are the ‘wicked problems’ that organizations face. They are messy, boundaries aren’t clear and they tend to be systemic in nature. They require resources to be mobilized (whether you control the resources or not) in areas where there is limited experience in how to think through to the answer. So how then can organizations disrupt themselves? What's needed and what's required?
Read details here: http://clayparkerjones.com/2015/09/the-new-model-for-scaling-a-company/
The existing models have left us with dreary workplaces, deep inequality, and an erosion of human dignity. We need a new model – new performance criteria and new tools – to solve the problem of organizing humans at work.
11th paper from the BetaCodex Network, on organizational structures and how they interact. This paper was previously entitled "The 3 Structures of an Organization". It was renamed February 2013.
The Innovative Organization - New Age Organizational FormsKarthikeyan Iyer
The Innovative Organization - New-age Organizational Forms
Over the past several centuries, the hierarchical form of organization had served us well. However, the world has changed rapidly in the past few decades. Change continues to accelerate. Linear organizations tend to struggle in a non-linear environment. New forms of organizations, much more well suited to today's complex and connected world and its needs, have emrged. These are broadly classified into ambidextrous organizations, collaborative organizations, learning organizations and emergent organizations. High innovation performance requires innovative structures. Innovation is unlikely to be driven top-down in an organization in the years to come. In the increasingly decentralized emergent form of organization innovation behavior will be like DNA - all-pervasive, scale agnostic, self-repeating and evolving. This requires new topologies. Elements of social network analysis, systems thinking and chaos theory provide pointers.
Organize for Complexity, part I+II - Special Edition PaperNiels Pflaeging
The future of the Organization.
Special Edition of the BetaCodex Network´s white papers on Organizing for Complexity - two papers in one! Illustrations by Pia Steinmann
My opening keynote from Accessibility Camp Boston 2012 - where I talked about Accessibility, Design, Innovation and using accessibility as a design tool to make designs better for everyone, whether they have a disability or not.
The interfaces we're building need to work in distracting environments. And we need to figure out how to cope with users' tendency to get distracted. This presentation looks at how we might achieve that. And why, I think, it's the most serious problem facing interaction designers today.
The Complexity Curve: How to Design for Simplicity (SXSW, March 2012)Dave Hogue
Interfaces and devices are providing more and more power and functionality to people, and in many cases this additional power is accompanied by increasing complexity. Although people have more experience and are more sophisticated, it still takes time to learn new interfaces, information, and interactions. Although we are able to learn and use these often difficult interfaces, we increasingly seek and appreciate simplicity.
The Complexity Curve describes how a project moves from boundless opportunity and wonderful ideas to requirements checklists and constraints then finally (but only rarely) to simplicity and elegance. Where many projects call themselves complete when the necessary features have been included, few push forward and strive to deliver the pleasing and delightful experiences that arise from simplicity, focus, and purpose.
David M. Hogue, Ph.D. - VP of Experience Design, applied psychologist, and adjunct faculty member at San Francisco State University - introduces the Complexity Curve, discuss why our innovative ideas seem to fade over the course of a project, explain why "feature complete" is not the same as "optimal experience", and offer some methods for driving projects toward simplicity and elegance.
Comments on twitter at #SXsimplerUX
Audio available at:
http://schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_IAP13657
Essential Complexity in Systems ArchitectureMark Mishaev
In this presentation we will into real system architectures, present essential and accidental complexity and see patterns that could help us to reduce accidental complexity.
In a VUCA World – one characterized by Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity – the traditional approach of applying well-practised set of processes, methods and tools to a well understood and clearly defined problem simply doesn’t work. Adaptive challenges are the ‘wicked problems’ that organizations face. They are messy, boundaries aren’t clear and they tend to be systemic in nature. They require resources to be mobilized (whether you control the resources or not) in areas where there is limited experience in how to think through to the answer. So how then can organizations disrupt themselves? What's needed and what's required?
A New Technical and Practical Approach on Securing Cyberspace and Cloud Compu...Symbiosis Group
Data on the cloud is at high risk. It is at risk of tampering by outsiders. The vulnerable nature of the architecture of the cloud sets it up for the data to be exposed and compromised. The fact that most of the data is on public cloud allows unethical intruders (hackers) to view the database on any cloud architecture. Whether private, public, community, or hybrid, this is a "Honey Pot" or "Pot of Gold" hat intruders can use to wipe out data
In this presentation I will try to show that Docker, by trying to fix the ship-ability issue, undoes a number of advances in application quality made in the recent years by putting applications in it in black boxes called containers.
Cognitive Shortcuts: Models, Visualizations, Metaphors, and Other Lies (Rails...Sam Livingston-Gray
Experienced developers tend to build up a library of creative problem-solving tools: rubber ducks, code smells, anthropomorphizing code, &c.
These tools map abstract problems into forms our brains are good at solving. But our brains are also good at lying to us.
We'll talk about some of these tools, when to use them (or not), and how their biases can lead us astray.
“A change in perspective is worth 80 IQ points.” -Alan Kay
New developers very welcome: we don't teach this in school!
Ten lessons I painfully learnt while moving from software developer to entrep...Wojciech Seliga
My presentation from Devoxx Poland 2016 conference - the newest, slightly revised version.
For many years I was a software developer. I would concentrate on the code, software projects and the interactions with my closes team and the users. I was sure that Agile solves all world’s problems. I would laugh over Scott Adam’s Dilbert comics with his Point Hair Boss. Life was simple, life was good. Now for 8+ years I have been running a software company, not a small one anymore. I became myself a full-time boss who only codes sometimes at home or during hackathons.
This session is about sharing with you those critical lessons which I painfully learnt when trying to grow into this new role - transitioning from being a software engineer into being an entrepreneur and top manager. Wheres not all of the lessons may or will (if you dream about your own startup) apply to your case, being aware of them may save you tons of time, energy, money or even help you to avoid the total disaster - burying your own company or dreams. And after all, sharing war stories from the past is fun … when these stories are the past.
The Art of the Pitch: WordPress Relationships and SalesLaura Byrne
Clients don’t know what they don’t know. What web solutions are right for them? How does WordPress come into the picture? How do you make sure you understand scope and timeline? What do you do if sometime changes?
All these questions and more will be explored as we talk about matching clients’ needs with what your agency offers without pulling teeth or pulling your hair out. Practical tips, and strategies for successful relationship building that leads to closing the deal.
DevOps and Testing slides at DASA ConnectKari Kakkonen
My and Rik Marselis slides at 30.5.2024 DASA Connect conference. We discuss about what is testing, then what is agile testing and finally what is Testing in DevOps. Finally we had lovely workshop with the participants trying to find out different ways to think about quality and testing in different parts of the DevOps infinity loop.
Software Delivery At the Speed of AI: Inflectra Invests In AI-Powered QualityInflectra
In this insightful webinar, Inflectra explores how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming software development and testing. Discover how AI-powered tools are revolutionizing every stage of the software development lifecycle (SDLC), from design and prototyping to testing, deployment, and monitoring.
Learn about:
• The Future of Testing: How AI is shifting testing towards verification, analysis, and higher-level skills, while reducing repetitive tasks.
• Test Automation: How AI-powered test case generation, optimization, and self-healing tests are making testing more efficient and effective.
• Visual Testing: Explore the emerging capabilities of AI in visual testing and how it's set to revolutionize UI verification.
• Inflectra's AI Solutions: See demonstrations of Inflectra's cutting-edge AI tools like the ChatGPT plugin and Azure Open AI platform, designed to streamline your testing process.
Whether you're a developer, tester, or QA professional, this webinar will give you valuable insights into how AI is shaping the future of software delivery.
Elevating Tactical DDD Patterns Through Object CalisthenicsDorra BARTAGUIZ
After immersing yourself in the blue book and its red counterpart, attending DDD-focused conferences, and applying tactical patterns, you're left with a crucial question: How do I ensure my design is effective? Tactical patterns within Domain-Driven Design (DDD) serve as guiding principles for creating clear and manageable domain models. However, achieving success with these patterns requires additional guidance. Interestingly, we've observed that a set of constraints initially designed for training purposes remarkably aligns with effective pattern implementation, offering a more ‘mechanical’ approach. Let's explore together how Object Calisthenics can elevate the design of your tactical DDD patterns, offering concrete help for those venturing into DDD for the first time!
Slack (or Teams) Automation for Bonterra Impact Management (fka Social Soluti...Jeffrey Haguewood
Sidekick Solutions uses Bonterra Impact Management (fka Social Solutions Apricot) and automation solutions to integrate data for business workflows.
We believe integration and automation are essential to user experience and the promise of efficient work through technology. Automation is the critical ingredient to realizing that full vision. We develop integration products and services for Bonterra Case Management software to support the deployment of automations for a variety of use cases.
This video focuses on the notifications, alerts, and approval requests using Slack for Bonterra Impact Management. The solutions covered in this webinar can also be deployed for Microsoft Teams.
Interested in deploying notification automations for Bonterra Impact Management? Contact us at sales@sidekicksolutionsllc.com to discuss next steps.
Builder.ai Founder Sachin Dev Duggal's Strategic Approach to Create an Innova...Ramesh Iyer
In today's fast-changing business world, Companies that adapt and embrace new ideas often need help to keep up with the competition. However, fostering a culture of innovation takes much work. It takes vision, leadership and willingness to take risks in the right proportion. Sachin Dev Duggal, co-founder of Builder.ai, has perfected the art of this balance, creating a company culture where creativity and growth are nurtured at each stage.
GraphRAG is All You need? LLM & Knowledge GraphGuy Korland
Guy Korland, CEO and Co-founder of FalkorDB, will review two articles on the integration of language models with knowledge graphs.
1. Unifying Large Language Models and Knowledge Graphs: A Roadmap.
https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.08302
2. Microsoft Research's GraphRAG paper and a review paper on various uses of knowledge graphs:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/graphrag-unlocking-llm-discovery-on-narrative-private-data/
Essentials of Automations: Optimizing FME Workflows with ParametersSafe Software
Are you looking to streamline your workflows and boost your projects’ efficiency? Do you find yourself searching for ways to add flexibility and control over your FME workflows? If so, you’re in the right place.
Join us for an insightful dive into the world of FME parameters, a critical element in optimizing workflow efficiency. This webinar marks the beginning of our three-part “Essentials of Automation” series. This first webinar is designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills to utilize parameters effectively: enhancing the flexibility, maintainability, and user control of your FME projects.
Here’s what you’ll gain:
- Essentials of FME Parameters: Understand the pivotal role of parameters, including Reader/Writer, Transformer, User, and FME Flow categories. Discover how they are the key to unlocking automation and optimization within your workflows.
- Practical Applications in FME Form: Delve into key user parameter types including choice, connections, and file URLs. Allow users to control how a workflow runs, making your workflows more reusable. Learn to import values and deliver the best user experience for your workflows while enhancing accuracy.
- Optimization Strategies in FME Flow: Explore the creation and strategic deployment of parameters in FME Flow, including the use of deployment and geometry parameters, to maximize workflow efficiency.
- Pro Tips for Success: Gain insights on parameterizing connections and leveraging new features like Conditional Visibility for clarity and simplicity.
We’ll wrap up with a glimpse into future webinars, followed by a Q&A session to address your specific questions surrounding this topic.
Don’t miss this opportunity to elevate your FME expertise and drive your projects to new heights of efficiency.
Dev Dives: Train smarter, not harder – active learning and UiPath LLMs for do...UiPathCommunity
💥 Speed, accuracy, and scaling – discover the superpowers of GenAI in action with UiPath Document Understanding and Communications Mining™:
See how to accelerate model training and optimize model performance with active learning
Learn about the latest enhancements to out-of-the-box document processing – with little to no training required
Get an exclusive demo of the new family of UiPath LLMs – GenAI models specialized for processing different types of documents and messages
This is a hands-on session specifically designed for automation developers and AI enthusiasts seeking to enhance their knowledge in leveraging the latest intelligent document processing capabilities offered by UiPath.
Speakers:
👨🏫 Andras Palfi, Senior Product Manager, UiPath
👩🏫 Lenka Dulovicova, Product Program Manager, UiPath
Unsubscribed: Combat Subscription Fatigue With a Membership Mentality by Head...
Designing for Complexity by Nadine Schaeffer
1. Designing for
Complexity
Nadine Schaeffer
Principal, Cloudforest Design
Sunday, March 25, 12 1
Simplicity is a frequent mantra for designers and a worthy goal. Who here has said or been told, Just make it simple;
make it like Apple. A show of hands please!
But life, well, life is infinitely complicated, and sometimes software becomes quite complex as well. So what does a well-
intentioned designer do when faced with the challenges of designing for a complex system? That is the focus of my talk
today.
2. Embrace the Complex!
Plot of 1 second of human brain (EEG) activity
https://secure.flickr.com/photos/zeno77/2236393771/sizes/z/in/photostream/
Sunday, March 25, 12 2
I am here to day to speak up in defense of the poorly maligned and sadly misunderstood character of complexity.
Take a look at this image which visually abstracts the activity of the brain over 1 second. We humans, we are capable of
so much; so much thought, creativity and cognition.
So, as designers, I want to encourage everyone to embrace and befriend complexity. Come on, give it a big hug.
3. A little bit about your humble speaker today:
#DesignForComplexity
Sunday, March 25, 12 3
Now, who am I to preach to you to embrace the great love of complexity? My name is Nadine Schaeffer, and I am one
of the owners of a small UX agency called Cloudforest Design (here is my 1 second pitch – we’re awesome. Hire us for
your next design project). Over the past 15 years, I have worked on many a complex piece of software for Oracle,
Yahoo!,, Fiserv, Citrix, Apple and many more.
4. Designing for Complexity
Contents
1. Overview: The Necessity of Complexity
2. Why We Fear the Complex
3. Dimensions of Complexity
4. Complex Applications
5. Complexity Toolkit: Heuristics & Solutions
Sunday, March 25, 12 4
This is a quick overview of what I am going to talk about
today.
5. The Necessity of Complexity
Sunday, March 25, 12 5
Let me tell you a quick story about how I came to be interested in this topic and give this talk:
I have always cringed a bit when bosses and clients tell me, just make it simple.
Some things just really aren't simple, and it’s insulting to users, designers, humans! To try to dumb down a complex
problem.
Do you really want to turn this ornate series of overpasses into one huge multi-lane nonstop traffic jam? Anyone ever try
to drive in Manhattan, or London during rush hour? Complexity is also at the fundamental root of evolution and life itself.
There is a pattern, both in nature and in manmade constructs, to move from the simple to the complex over time, and
this movement creates new, innovative and often beautiful designs.
6. From Novice to Master
https://secure.flickr.com/photos/msimdottv/4339697089/sizes/z/in/photostream/
Sunday, March 25, 12 6
I would like to suggest this is an appropriate time to shift the overriding design principle in play from “simple” to
“efficient”, or even, “adept”. Instead of trying to hide or downplay the complexity of a system, instead, navigate users
through the system with frictionless ease towards deep mastery.
This is a picture of the space shuttle Endeavor. Humans – we are awesome. We have sent rockets to the moon, built
particle accelerators, created an understanding of the deep and wide universe around us. To think that we need
simplicity is disingenuous and even insulting. But no engineer was born with the skills to build a rocket at birth. Instead,
most of our great minds participate in some system of learning to help them grow in knowledge and skills from novice to
master over time. Our software should strive to do the same – to guide people to mastery.
7. Designing for the Flow
https://secure.flickr.com/photos/chadpodoski/6485538093/sizes/z/in/photostream/
Sunday, March 25, 12 7
Doing easy things is fun, for sure, but successfully mastering and accomplishing difficult tasks is even more rewarding.
What we really want is to get people into the flow state. Look at these surfers. I have tried to surf. It’s really hard! Unless
you are a pro, a master (not a novice), in which case, you are in the flow and make it look easy.
What is flow?
Flow is the mental state of operation in which a person in an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full
involvement, and success in the process of the activity.
Proposed by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, the positive psychology concept has been widely referenced across a variety of
fields.[1]
According to Csíkszentmihályi, flow is completely focused motivation. It is a single-minded immersion and represents
perhaps the ultimate in harnessing the emotions in the service of performing and learning. In flow, the emotions are not
just contained and channeled, but positive, energized, and aligned with the task at hand.
8. Simple or Complex?
Sunday, March 25, 12 8
What is simple? What is complex? Often it is merely a question of perspective or view. The iPhone is lauded as a paragon
of simplicity. I think they are amazing, but for different reasons. Think of the millions of hours of human effort and
knowledge behind them. Go back to discovering electricity, building out a telecommunications network, developing
the all those chips you see on the main logic board. And the software, the iOs and the gazillion apps that run on top of it.
This little wafer of technology is just the tip of a huge mountain of human knowledge. Now how cool is that?
9. Complexity is everywhere …
https://secure.flickr.com/photos/cloudforest/381332588/sizes/z/in/photostream/
Sunday, March 25, 12 9
Any time you look around nature, the pattern of ripples in a river, the colors of the sunset, the growth patterns of trees,
you see complexity. This is a very nice Fibonacci spiral pattern that I saw in a little house plant potted in a neighbor’s
garden.
10. And it is beautiful!
Sunday, March 25, 12 10
A quick walk to my local park always inspires me to not be intimidated by
complexity.
11. Designing for Complexity
Contents
1. Overview: The Necessity of Complexity
2. Why We Fear the Complex
3. Dimensions of Complexity
4. Complex Applications
5. Complexity Toolkit: Heuristics & Solutions
Sunday, March 25, 12 11
12. Cognitive Load
Sunday, March 25, 12 12
The term cognitive load is used in cognitive psychology to illustrate the load related to the executive control of working
memory (WM). Complex learning activities the amount of information and interactions that must be processed
simultaneously can either under-load, or overload the finite amount of working memory one possesses. All elements must
be processed before meaningful learning can continue.[1]
Many would agree that people learn better when they can build on what they already understand (known as existing
schemas), but the more a person has to learn in a shorter amount of time, the more difficult it is to process that
information in working memory. Consider the difference between having to study a subject in one's native language
versus trying to study a subject in a foreign language. The cognitive load is much higher in the second instance because
the brain must work to translate the language[dubious – discuss] while simultaneously trying to understand the new
information.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_load
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gray728.svg
13. Complex or Chaotic?
From National Geographic via http://japandisaster11.blogspot.com/2011/05/wave-of-destruction-of-tsunami-in.html
Sunday, March 25, 12 13
This is a personal theory, but I believe we also fear the complex because it is so very very close to the chaotic, especially
when we do not understand or have tools to understand the dimensions and facets of complexity. The picture above is
from the aftermath of the tsunami in Japan last year. What was an orderly Japanese village has been transformed
almost instantly into a jumbled tangle of chaos. There is good reason to fear this! And I think instinctively, when we
observe the complex without the right tools or lenses, it can easily just look like chaos. Anyone who has gotten lost in
amid badly designed application navigation with the back button disabled knows exactly what I mean.
14. Slow Thinking
• Daniel Kahneman, a winner of
the Nobel Prize for economics,
Thinking, Fast and Slow
• System 1: Fast, unconscious, easy
• System 2, Conscious, deductive,
hard work
• Humans far prefer the speedy
and effortless fast thinking, but
slow thinking is more accurate
Sunday, March 25, 12 14
“Kahneman presents our thinking process as consisting of two systems. System 1 (Thinking Fast) is unconscious, intuitive
and effort-free. System 2 (Thinking Slow) is conscious, uses deductive reasoning and is an awful lot of work.
- http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/15bb6522-04ac-11e1-91d9-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz1jZfMPkVg
To paraphrase some examples from this book, add 4+2 in your head. Now add 42 + 64. So far so good. Now multiple 706
x 589. A little harder. Now think of a 5 digit numbers, like 72,019. Now add +1 to each digit. 83,120. At some point, you
realize the math is getting harder. You no longer can spontaneously come up with the answer but actually have to think!
Ouch! You have moved from fast thinking to slow thinking. What Kahneman’s research tells us is that fast thinking is fun.
We like coming to quick answers, snap judgments. And we get stressed by slow thinking, but we are more accurate
when thinking slowly.
15. Designing for Complexity
Contents
1. Overview: The Necessity of Complexity
2. Why We Fear the Complex
3. Dimensions of Complexity
4. Complex Applications
5. Complexity Toolkit: Heuristics & Solutions
Sunday, March 25, 12 15
So, what do we mean by complex? Well many things. One useful exercise when solving for complex app design, is to
identify and acknowledge the dimensions of complexity for each particular product.
16. The Dimensions
Humans
Volume Time
Product
Change Quantity
Users
Sunday, March 25, 12 16
There are many different kinds of complexity, some of which naturally group together, and I think of these complexity
sets as the dimensions of complexity. There are three general groups of complexity that I usually encounter in software
design, and they are represented in the three main rings in this diagram, orbiting around the nucleus of the product, or
application. There is, in my mind first and foremost, the dimension of human or user complexity, shown in orange. Next, so
often there are complex amounts of volume, quantity, etc. involved (blue). Finally, there is the added dimension of
change over time.
If I were addressing product design, I would also add some physical parameters of complexity, such as materials
(durability, weight, strength) and human ergonomics.
17. The Human Dimension
Skills Language
Education Culture
Humans
Volume Time
Product
Change Quantity
Users
Role Training
Permissions Experience
Sunday, March 25, 12 17
As user experience designers, we focus most often on the human layers of complexity … (discuss points
above)
18. The Human Dimension
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ausnahmezustand/4752989186/sizes/z/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/3386629036/sizes/l/
Sunday, March 25, 12 18
Remember - Humans are illogical in predictable ways. Emotions of compassion, belonging, helping others but also
competition and game play can motivate us through difficult situations.
19. Volume & Quantity
Data
Humans
Volume Time
Objects
Product Tasks
Change Quantity
Users
Rules
Sunday, March 25, 12 19
This is the dimension of complexity most often relegated to the domain of engineers and developers. The sheer quantity
of data, of processes, of different devices and screens, of users themselves. The challenge of designing for cross-
channel experiences certainly comes into play here.
20. Volume & Quantity
Sunday, March 25, 12 20
Photoshop is one of the most common and oldest software programs used by the masses. I personally have worked with
it since 1995, 17 years. And I still don’t know even 25% of what it can do. It is a great example of both the quantity of
different tasks dilemma, and also a great example of a piece of software that has grown without being restructured for
usability. It’s kind of a bloated behemoth at this point.
21. Change Over Time
Product
Focus
Humans
Volume Time
Product
Features
User
Product
Skills
Change Quantity
Users
User
Behavior
Sunday, March 25, 12 21
An element of complexity that is often over-looked is the dimension of time. People change of course over time, and
there skill levels using the same app can dramatically improve, as can their expectations.
22. Change Over Time
Sunday, March 25, 12 22
Software of course, also changes over time. Take a look at the Yahoo! Homepage in 1997, and again in 2012 – what will
it look like in another decade? Will they still exist? Will a web page even be the right modality?
23. All Facets & Dimensions
Skills Language
Education Culture
Data Product
Focus
Humans
Volume Time
Product
Objects Features
User
Product Tasks
Skills
Change Quantity
Users
User Rules
Behavior
Role Training
Permissions Experience
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A lot to think about, but only some of these dimensions and their facets are relevant for any given
product.
24. Designing for Complexity
Contents
1. Overview: The Necessity of Complexity
2. Why We Fear the Complex
3. Dimensions of Complexity
4. Complex Applications
5. Complexity Toolkit: Heuristics & Soutions
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Let’s quickly look at some common types of complex
apps.
25. Logistics
http://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalcolony/2754626790/sizes/z/in/photostream/
Sunday, March 25, 12 25
Applications that manage as well as provide workflow control, oversight and reporting for logistics and operations are
rarely simple. Think of all the details that rest behind a simple act like ordering a physical book on Amazon. Is it in stock?
Which warehouse is most cost effective to ship from? How does it get picked, packed, labeled and shipped? How does
this single book purchase weigh into the massive reporting structures behind Amazon accounting?
Inventory management is just one example of a logistics application. Supply chain management and shipping are other
related examples. And if thinking through the purchase of a single book seems complex, imagine the supply chain
management applications that track every single part and supplier for a car, or a smart phone.
26. Remote Monitoring
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Software to oversee, monitor, maintain and control complex systems from afar are another seriously intricate and
involved design challenge. Examples of this type of application would be the infamous systems used for air traffic control
as well as train and subway control. I have never seen the software that manages the New York subway system, but it is
easy to imagine its detailed demands as well as the possibly life imperiling consequences of thoughtless design choices
27. Database Management
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Distributed database and network management tools are another common sub-species of this software category. Not
only can a database or network schema involve thousands of objects and nodes, the virtual nature of these objects just
adds another layer of abstraction to test and stretch the human brain. The database clusters that run the New York Stock
Exchange are one example of the natural extreme of what software can create and manage for mankind, and they
never will be simple.
28. Accounting, Analytics & Finance
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Here is a screenshot from Quickbooks, a common accounting app. It’s not the worst, it’s not the easiest either.
Interestingly, Mint tried to solve for this problem of the complexities of managing personal finance. When we got too
many accounts (too complex), it stopped working for me at all
29. Makerly Applications
3d modeling, engineering, complex graphics and video editing
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Applications used to plan and design real world and virtual objects are another form of extremely complex applications.
On the screen is a view of Blender, an open source 3d modeling tool I personally like.
3D tools and their interfaces have always been particularly interesting to me, since they require a constant mental
abstraction from 3d to 2d and back again.
30. Designing for Complexity
Contents
1. Overview: The Necessity of Complexity
2. Why We Fear the Complex
3. Dimensions of Complexity
4. Complex Applications
5. Complexity Toolkit: Heuristics & Solutions
Sunday, March 25, 12 30
And finally, the moment you have been waiting for – some common and easy to use design techniques for complex
problems.
31. Prioritize Tasks
1.2.3
PRIORITIZE PATTERNS DATAVIS ROLES LEARN REVEAL ZOOM SOCIAL NO UI
WEIGHTING * RANKING * SEGMENTATION * GROUPING
Sunday, March 25, 12 31
Most enterprise software packages can do hundreds or even thousands of tasks, but not all of theses tasks are equally
important or frequent. Therefore, going through an exercise to prioritize use cases can be extremely helpful. Once a
designer knows what tasks are most common versus least common, it is far easier to make UI prioritization decisions such
as choosing what actions are triggered by big buttons instead of small text links, or what items are in the main navigation
versus secondary or tertiary navigation.
This exercise is known as weighting. Weighting allows the human brain to easily identify the most important controls in an
application easily. Un-weighted applications can be visually overwhelming, whereas weighting and prioritization guide
users to their most common destinations effortlessly.
Segmentation is another corollary to weighting. By grouping tasks around a common theme or object, users will naturally
seek and find related controls. Logical groupings can be around objects, or around common workflows. For example,
users, groups, roles and permissions are almost always grouped together.
• Group controls around a common theme, workflow
• Example: Users, groups, permissions
• Example: heating, cooling, a/v in a car dashboard
Of course, weighting and segmentation do nothing to help manage complexity if they aren’t approached from the
perspective of the personas representing your heaviest users. If you weight your tasks according to the feature bullet
points on your product’s sales presentations, or segment tasks according to your organization’s org chart, users will feel the
functionality they rely on to do their jobs has been buried.
32. Use Patterns & Consistency
1.2.3
PRIORITIZE PATTERNS DATAVIS ROLES LEARN REVEAL ZOOM SOCIAL NO UI
Sunday, March 25, 12 32
Be consistent, appeal to muscle memory, don’t re-invent the wheel (unless you actually are an innovative automotive
company)
Humans just love patterns. We are hardwired to do the same things in the same way repeatedly. We look for objects in
the physical world to stay where they were last put, and we expect the same of our software. Therefore, keeping
navigation, language and page placement consistent across an application is key. If a command says Start Server on
one page and is shown by a big green button, the same language and visual treatment should be used everywhere
consistently. Similarly, if a link to My Account is shown on the top right of some screens, it should consistently keep the
same placement across all screens. Other common examples: wizards, right-click options,
Patterns are another similar technique to appeal to familiarity and recognizable controls. One of the more common
patterns known to many users is the use of a wizard to guide users through a multi-step process. Most everyone will
recognize a wizard, know that the numbered steps represent parts to the process, and will have a clear sense of where
they are and what needs to be done. When patterns emerge as part of your product, it makes sense to use these
patterns consistently, to both reinforce and satisfy user expectations about their behavior. This consistency can provide
the user with the confidence that the time and energy they invest in mastery will be rewarded.
CONSISTENCY
• In placement (search on the upper right)
• In language (log in, log out – sign in, sign out)
• In solution and approach (filters or a scope bar)
• Consider internal (within the app) and external (within all software)
consistency
Sky & Water I – M.C. Escher - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sky_and_Water_I.jpg
33. Use Patterns: Don’t Reinvent the Wheel
(unless you are an auto company)
Sunday, March 25, 12 33
A little competitive analysis can go a long way and save a lot of money.
I found it amusing and completely appropriate that Expedia, Kayak and Orbitz use an almost identical pattern to start a
travel search. And why not!
34. Use Data Visualizations
1.2.3
PRIORITIZE PATTERNS DATAVIS ROLES LEARN REVEAL ZOOM SOCIAL NO UI
Sunday, March 25, 12 34
. Use Data Visualizations (wisely) …use the power of human pattern recognition
Data visualizations are all the rage and for good reason – there is nothing like a basic line graph to make a trend immediately
obvious from what would otherwise be an indistinguishable sea of numbers. A picture IS worth a thousand words. Charts and
graphs are absolutely invaluable for parsing large data sets and getting at underlying anomalies, trends, totals, comparisons and
proportions. When used properly, data visualization can be used to tell a story, alert users to errors and oddities as well as call out
recurring events and issues.
The key is to keep data visualization relevant and accurate, with an appropriate level of fidelity and user control. The choice of
which data to visualize and of the data visualization method should be appropriate to the user’s task as it relates to the data.
Extraneous charts or chart types (whether to provide eye candy or other spurious motivations) only serve to clutter and detract
from the clarity of the data message the expert user needs to be able to receive in a timely and efficient manner.
http://www.wordle.net/create
That being said, it is equally important to provide a sufficient level of granularity and user control to allow the user to complete
their task. If the user needs be able to see daily values, showing them a chart that only contains monthly values isn’t going to help
the user much with their task. Some tasks require the ability to apply complex filters and rules to reveal patterns or associations that
would otherwise be difficult to detect. In order to choose these mechanisms wisely, it is of the utmost important to have a crystal
clear understanding of the nature of the user’s tasks, particularly those of the frequent/heavy/expert user.
35. Use Interesting Data Viz
Tell a story, make it beautiful
• stream graphs
• sankey diagrams
• sparklines
• bubble charts
• network graphs
• conceptual maps
• topography maps
http://www.creativeapplications.net/flash/well-
formed-eigenfactor-flash/
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This visualization gives an overview of a citation for a set of research periodicals. A table of data would have been functional, but
this gorgeous illustration is a lot more fun to parse, and shows clear clusters immediately. Another way to think of it is that it appeals
to Fast Thinking.
The colors represent the four main groups of journals, which are further subdivided into fields in the outer ring. The segments of the
inner ring represent the individual journals, scaled by frequency.
Well-Formed Eigenfactor is an interactive visualizations based on the Eigenfactorâ„¢ Metrics and hierarchical clustering to explore
emerging patterns in citation networks. It’s a cooperation project between the Eigenfactor Project (data analysis) and Moritz
Stefaner known for his work  in the information aesthetics and interactive visualization fields.
36. Match UI to Roles
1.2.3
PRIORITIZE PATTERNS DATAVIS ROLES LEARN REVEAL ZOOM SOCIAL NO UI
Sunday, March 25, 12 36
Most complex software is designed for not just one type of user, but several. For example, the domain administrator who
sets up a process for source control management to be used throughout an entire company is not the developer who
will be checking in code. Personas to the rescue! By carefully identifying the different types of users in a system (personas
or roles), and the tasks they are required to perform, large chunks of the application can be “hidden” from those users
who will never need them. Adobe figured out that web designers and photographers need different apps, and thus
Fireworks and Lightroom grew out of Photoshop.
Adapting the user interface to the role of the user and their specific needs requires a fair amount of careful planning up
front, but it can be a huge aid in removing superfluous commands and complexity from the user’s experience.
•Those Personas sure come in handy
• Identify your roles, then do a task ranking per role
• Consider users with multiple roles
• Roles can be directly tied to permissions
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chapeaux_en_peau_de_castor.jpg
37. Behavioral Roles
https://magia3e.wordpress.com/2007/12/21/whats-my-scene-user-roles-and-needs-in-social-computing/
Sunday, March 25, 12 37
Some roles to not match to tasks, job roles or titles. This diagram displays the different types of social users, each of which
will have different needs and expectations from a product. These categories can be quite mutable. I tend to shift from
Spectator, to Joiner, to Critic, to Inactive, myself.
38. Learn and Adapt Based on
1.2.3
PRIORITIZE PATTERNS DATAVIS ROLES LEARN REVEAL ZOOM SOCIAL NO UI
Sunday, March 25, 12 38
Software systems are too often designed as static. What you get out of the box, is what you get, forever. However, it is
not hard to see after a week or month, what tools and controls are used by individuals most often. A set of user-specific
frequent tasks on the home or dashboard of an application is a quick way to provide short cuts for each user to what
they need and do most often. More sophisticated UIs can change the weighting and priority in navigation and screens
layouts to match user behavior as well. Similarly, forms or entries that are re-used frequently, and with the same common
values, can be pre-filled based on previous repeated entries. Here the concept of software memory comes into play to
help the user gracefully complete repeated tasks as effortlessly as possible.
Adaptive UIs require an understanding of the way a user’s task may change or evolve over time. Day one tasks are
different from month one tasks, and those may different yet again from month two tasks.
• Search or browse – what’s your flavor
• Layout customizations
• Filter presets
• Common tasks come first
• Suggestions and hints – what to do next
• People who bought this, also bought that
39. Expose Some Complexity When
1.2.3
PRIORITIZE PATTERNS DATAVIS ROLES LEARN REVEAL ZOOM SOCIAL NO UI
Sunday, March 25, 12 39
Boeing 747 – terribly complex, not something I would want to simplify with one button and a scroll wheel either.
Remember from Thinking Fast & Slow – Slow thought is more accurate, smaller fonts encourage readers to absorb more
and read more carefully
40. Zoom: It’s All a Question of Perspective
1.2.3
PRIORITIZE PATTERNS DATAVIS ROLES LEARN REVEAL ZOOM SOCIAL NO UI
Power of Ten – Charles & Ray Eames - http://powersof10.com/#
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These are 4 stills from a designer classic, the Power of Ten by the Eames. Starting in the universe, to earth, to a human, to
DNA. What to show, what is important in each frame, is all dependent on the zoom level. We zoom in and out of
applications all the time as well. Search is a form of zoom. So are expanding and collapsing menus. Data visualizations
often display the big picture, and then the use can dive into the data itself for a particular day, item or event.
41. Social & Emotive Design
1.2.3
PRIORITIZE PATTERNS DATAVIS ROLES LEARN REVEAL ZOOM SOCIAL NO UI
• Social factors can mitigate complexity; provide
motivation
• Competition, leaderboards and rankings
• Cooperation, sharing, bragging rights and helping
others
• Think Linux or GitHub or even Facebook
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Appeal to the social and human side by utilizing:
- Social media, social aspects, etc
- Humor & compassion
- Sharing & community status
- Rewards & accomplishments
42. And Remember, the Simplest UI is
1.2.3
PRIORITIZE PATTERNS DATAVIS ROLES LEARN REVEAL ZOOM SOCIAL NO UI
• Phone/SMS/Notifications
•Manual or wiki
• Automation
Never send a human in to do a computer’s job.
Sunday, March 25, 12 42
Sometimes, the best user experience solution is to skip the user interface entirely. It is always worth asking if a UI is the
right solution for a problem, or if instead a script, a notification, and/or a wiki page of instructions might be the better
answer.
Strange as it may seem conceptually, sometimes the answer might not be great design, but great DevOps. DevOps is
about collaboration, people over process over tools. Taking it even a step further, NoOps is about automation; invisible
tools that make people and process unnecessary. Whether NoOps turns out to be a pipe dream or not, it’s clear that in
many areas of software development and operations, there is a strong push towards automation as a means of
increasing software quality. A desire for automation leads to the need to eliminate user interfaces that cannot be easily
scripted and ultimately controlled by other software.
Never send a human in to do a computer’s job.
43. Thank you!
Get in touch
nadine@cloudforestdesign.com
www.cloudforestdesign.com
Twitter
@cloudforest
@cloudforestux
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