Internal Tools: The Unsung Heroes of Daily Operations
Internal tools are like trusted friends. We use them in our daily tasks, often taking them for granted, expecting them to "just work". Like long-time friends, we put up with their quirks and idiosyncrasies, some of which even become endearing over time.
The Unavoidable Quirks and the Fight for Better Design
These quirks arise from a variety of circumstances and environmental factors related to human nature and work nature traits. While we can't dictate how individuals process information at a fundamental level, we can help them navigate these tools more efficiently. Despite acknowledging these unavoidable "poor" user experiences, why do we often deprioritize good design decisions for internal tools?
Invisible Features: The Foundation of Intuitive Design
Truly elegant experiences are often invisible, yet expected. We anticipate a blinking cursor in a text input, a date selector to resemble a calendar, a mug to have a handle, and a fork to have curved edges. These are things we've come to expect because the patterns have been engrained over time.
Prioritizing Elegance: A Battle Against Competing Priorities
The development and maintenance of these features require a champion who controls budget, timelines, and delivery. They must care enough about these invisible features to invest in them and fight for their importance. However, prioritizing how people feel on a moment-to-moment basis is challenging in a world of competing priorities such as improving profitability or liquidity.
The Meta-Job: Advocacy for the User Experience
As User Experience (UX) designers, we often find ourselves in the role of a meta-job. We argue for the necessity of these invisible features, much like advocating for curved fork edges to prevent users from stabbing themselves. While letting users learn from their own mistakes is an approach, it's largely inefficient.
The Hidden Costs of Skepticism
The skepticism of "I need to see it to believe it" often has hidden costs. The process of finding the ideal curve for a fork, for example, has cascading effects on everything from the cost of manufacturing at scale to the structural integrity of the fork. All of these would be far less painful if we agreed from the onset that the edge of the fork should be curved.
The Long-term Savings of Invisible Features
While these design decisions may not directly generate revenue, they can lead to substantial cost savings in the long haul. That curve on the fork can become the next expected, invisible feature, saving the business from potential litigation or manufacturing inefficiencies. This is the power of intuition and discernment.
Trust us when we say the curve is important.
Fight for the curve.
Protect the curve.
