It’s not people, it’s unfinished design
Working from 🏠 – Week 3: Experiencing “a new normal”, driven by digital transformation of work
As things sort of started to settle down in our new corona reality, we found the calendar being filled up with digital meetings. Experiencing several co-working sessions with people more or less used to digital platforms and how people responded by either apologising, being frustrated or even angry, made us think about a good old design school classic: “The Design of Everyday Things” (1988) by Don Norman.
Donald Norman (b. 1935), one of the founding fathers of user experience design has done research on how people use products. One insight was that when people did not understand how to use a telephone or another device, they blamed themselves and not the design. The answer, however, most often could be found in poor design. Digital platforms and all types of devices you use, should be intuitive and not make you feel stupid. If you fail, it is often the technology that should be blamed and not you. Even doors can be designed in a way where it is hopeless to understand how to open them, as the video from Vox (2016) below shows.
It is great to see company after company realising this, and offer steadily improved products. However, the complexity of the design of some of these digital platforms, means that it can be difficult to adapt to all of the different user scenarios that occur when people start to use them. With the number of design errors possible when designing a simple door, imagine designing some of these digital tools we now use.
For now, as a quick fix, what we can do is to respond to these challenges compassionately:
For those of you who have mastered these new tools: Be patient when people fumble, forget to engage the mute button, cannot activate the link, etc. The digital communication platforms are new tools for many. If we relax, smile and offer some guidance, it will be a better experience for us all. And we will have a better time getting through the corona situation.
For you that would like to enter this new world: Test, experiment and do not be afraid to fail. If you fail don’t blame yourself or be angry at the people who set up the system. Think about these as the “Norman door” and do what you did as a kid. Try one more time, and another one… eventually you will get there. Use the opportunity to experiment, play and share your insights.
Enjoy the video of the Norman door and good luck with another week experimenting and teaching yourself new skills and co-creating with your fellows.
