97 Things Every UX Practitioner Should Know

Chapter 50. Your First Idea Is Sometimes Your Worst Idea

Audrey Bryson

Imagine you’re tasked with solving a design problem without an obvious solution. After examining the constraints and thinking deeply about the problem, an idea pops into your head. This idea seems reasonable from both a usability and a development perspective, so your work is done, right? Unfortunately, there are some serious drawbacks to running with your first flash of insight, and we should all learn to value the importance of multiple concepts.

There’s a well-documented reason we, as humans, are so quick to go with the first viable option: our brains are lazy. Well, our brains aren’t lazy, but rather we have evolved to conserve as many mental resources as possible. In his book Don’t Make Me Think (New Riders), Steve Krug refers to this concept as satisficing: “Most of the time we don’t choose the best option—we choose the first reasonable option.” Other researchers have described this concept as the Einstellung effect. Bilalić, McLeod, and Gobet (2008) found that “the more familiar solution induced the Einstellung (set) effect even in experts, preventing them from finding the optimal solution.”¹ By fixating on the first reasonable solution or the most familiar solution, designers not only miss out on flexing their own skills but also risk missing out on the best possible ideas.

I discovered an example of ...