We got in to one of my favourite discussions at one of my DIY User Research workshop at FFWD London. I demonstrated how to run a number of different types of research and had the group practice for themselves. One great question was around how diligent to be on fixing user experience glitches.
Years of research with the youth market has shown that they do not necessarily like to use products that are too “scripted” – at the extreme, experiences that have in-built tutorials. They tell me that half the fun of starting to use a new app or product is to work out how to use it. That is part of the “game” (their language). They enjoy learning how to use a product and are happy to find their own way around. So fixing every single little glitch might not be a good thing to do – crazy though it may sound.
Now having said all of that, I need to temper it
1) “Hygiene” processes need to be as simple and pain-free as possible. Examples of “hygiene” being registration, sign in, and most importantly, payment! Serious impact for your business if there are any issues here.
2) It does somewhat depend on the product and the segment. If you are a mobile banking app, people are using you for efficiency and convenience – and a glitchy experience is going to put people off and reduce their confidence – the last thing a bank needs. This is also a good example of where you need to think about the segment. My first point above is a younger user, but it would seem that older users, experiencing a banking app would not really find working it out “fun”. Annoying, more like.
3) The product could be SO worth it! My example here is Pinterest. I love Pinterest. It is really useful for me to discover and organise home decor images for my pending house move (fingers crossed!) and I love the convenience of being able to share my boards. There are lots of incidents where I feel that the product is not intuitive and where I am forced through tutorials for new features. But I love it – so useful – and honestly, my love is not diminished by these usability downers.
I love running these workshops – the conversations that flow, the light bulbs that go off and the questions that make me think. Please comment away on this post.