Published on | Prototyping: From UX to Front End — Medium Diana Militano

Why designing should allow users to overturn our products

Image by: themanual.com

A good designer is a good problem solver. Interpreting evidence and digging deeper to understand what problem is to be solved is one of the most important skills in UX design and research.

But what happens after we’ve fixed the problem?

Once we introduce a new design solution in the market, we often witness unpredictable upshots.

New technologies introduce new behaviours

Think about how smartphones have dramatically changed people’s habits. Constant interconnection changed the way we stay in touch with others; we approach and read news with a different attitude. Virtually none of this was probably anticipated when the first iPhone came out.

It’s hard to foresee the effects of our design solutions because people often use technologies in unexpected ways that deviate from the original intention of the technology as designed.

I work as a product designer in Enterprise software for the legal industry. This industry hasn’t made a complete shift towards technology yet. Instead, our users are accustomed to long-lasting procedures that still rely on manual and repetitive tasks. The challenge then is to predict how our digital solutions will affect their existing process. Will they adapt their system to the new limits and possibilities given by technology? And how?

The appropriation of technology

Both the possibilities and limits of a new product will affect the behaviour of our user when she tests a new tool. The way she will work around restrictions or take advantage of new resources can be surprising. Users can and will overturn what the designers had in mind. This doesn’t mean that the designer failed. On the contrary, it means that users are in control.

When users are in control of the technology, we are faced with what is known as appropriation. Designing for appropriation should be considered as one of our top priorities.

The signals of appropriation

Appropriation happens when users can bend the system to their demands, even if it wasn’t designed for that specific purpose.

You can see appropriation when users customise products in an unanticipated way. How many people have the alarm clock set up like the picture below? We are all aware of the snooze feature, but something is not quite right with it and many will adopt this workaround instead.

Another fine example is that of following a step-by-step process in a different order from the one that was considered during design: email clients display the recipient field at the top, but I usually type the text of my email first and then add the recipients, so I am sure I won’t accidentally send out a draft.

Imagining people altering what we meticulously designed to work in a specific way is scary. But in reality, this is a desirable outcome.

In this scenario, we will be able to observe how users creatively interact with the system. This provides a source of continuous understanding of evolving users’ goals and behaviours and a space to capture how our personas change together with technology.

The user in turn becomes a fundamental part of the design process because her actions and unexpected interpretations actively re-design and improve the product.

It’s time to start designing for appropriation

How can we design a system that encourages appropriation? Alan Dix, computing professor at Birmingham University, outlined seven principles that can be used as guidelines for designing for appropriation.

Allow interpretation

Let users assign a meaning to elements in the product, instead of setting a fixed one. Not only it will encourage unanticipated use, but will also broaden the use cases and, therefore, your user base.

Think about Microsoft Excel. The only fixed meaning one cell can have is just a row and a column number. Users can input any kind of text in it — from a complex formula to a simple email address. This simple design decision can explain why Excel is still so widely used in so many industries for the most disparate activities.

Provide visibility and expose intentions

Hiding details of how a complex system actually works is considered good design. However, we sometimes could purposely expose functionality to enable users to find a way around obstacles.

iOs shows the storage breakdown, so users know what is taking up more space and delete largest files first. When I’ll run out of space, I know that I’ll need to shrink my Spotify playlist.

When it comes to security, user subverting the system may represent a concern. Again, exposing how the system works could be convenient: if we explicitly describe intentions users are warned against possible risks.

For example, in a signup form, specify clearly how the username will be used by the system. You don’t want users to type an improvised nickname they will forget immediately, only to later realise that it is required to login.

Support, not control

When users want to complete a specific task, designing a fixed step-by-step process seems straightforward. Instead, provide the user with all the tools to complete the task themselves and let them customise the process. It will give them full control and encourage appropriation.

Plugability and configuration

Imagine your system as a Lego construction: every part is a brick and can be plugged and unplugged in different ways. Again, users can take control by setting up the system in the way that suits them the best.

My favourite design example? Ikea furniture. I have recently bought a shelving unit made of blocks that I can customise with any sort of insert. Today it’s a bookshelf in my living room, tomorrow it’s a chest of drawer in the bedroom.

Encourage sharing

Successful appropriation generates positive feelings. People are happy to share their appropriation results, so design a system that let them talk about it, such as a community forum or social media channels.

Learn from appropriation

Have you ever find yourself opening a bottle of beer using your lighter? Well, the designers at Guinness learnt from your creative way of using a tool and produced a new lighter that serves better your goals.

Image by drinkstuff.com

Trust your users

A good designer identifies a problem, works to fix it and together with the user, creates innovation. As in any good collaboration, the relationship between designer and user has to be based on trust. Providing the users with an environment to experiment and alter the original idea is a powerful tool. By creating a genuine synergy, a designer has the opportunity to build great products that people use to re-shape their lives.

Designing for the unpredictable was originally published in prototypr on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Designing for the unpredictable

Cool stuff, every week

More Articles