Designed for Use, 2nd Edition

Don’t Pick Sides

In design meetings, somebody commonly proposes a solution to a design problem, and somebody else disagrees, offering an alternative approach. The human tendency toward tribalism quickly kicks in, and the other people in the meeting align themselves with either of the two ideas. “I like Jane’s idea better; it allows for much more efficient use!” “But Tom’s idea is much better for first-time users!”

At this point, people are no longer designing but rather arguing about which of two proposed solutions is the correct one. But interaction design is such a young field that there is no correct solution to design problems. Really, we’re arguing about whether strapping the steam engine to the front or the back of the horse carriage is ...