Designed for Use, 2nd Edition

How to Avoid Preferences

Say no to your users (and have a look at Chapter 27, ​ Avoiding Features ​). Some people might really like a smaller font size. Perhaps they’ll even send you email, asking you to let them change the font sizes. But that doesn’t mean that adding a preference for font sizes is really the best course of action. You may make some of your customers happy, but you’ll inconvenience everybody else—including yourself. With the font size example, for example, you’ll be forced to rethink a lot of your screens’ layouts to accomodate smaller font sizes.

Say no to yourself. Maybe a preference sounds really good. Often, it’s the easiest way out. By simply making something a preference, you don’t have to make that choice yourself. But ...