The Interaction Indecision
Are product designers overwhelming users with an excessive user experience?
With technology turning ubiquitous, consumer products are competing for user attention and engagement. Its imperative for product designers to reduce interaction cost by all means to increase their product engagement.
Due to the sheer lack of time and abundance of choice users need simpler interactions with products. Too much information calls for alternate and experimental navigation models.
To balance the overload of features, growing products are creating newer interaction and navigational models in their interfaces to automate the decision making process for users.
With AI, these products are constantly learning choices and users might eventually let go of active decision making by handing over their "interaction decision" to the system.
User functions driven by indecision are turning into system functions and the interfaces seem to be turning simpler. However, they are taking out the fun of the very experience they were envisioned for.
Here are two live examples of how global consumer products are addressing the problem of "interaction indecision". (I coined this new term, as if our current industry jargon was not enough)
Even the Play-Something feature is quite daunting and seems to be adding to the indecision. Will this open up another interaction alternative called Play-Something-Else.
To what end?
Wikipedia’s Read-a-Random article feature allows users to read an article randomly. This is probably designed to suit the user's reading preferences, however I can't make a definitive statement here. There is an unimaginable amount of content on Wikipedia and the final option seems to be Read-a-Random article. (Feature available on the left pane of the website)
A simple "Order-me-Something" button could be the only way out.
A restaurant booking product like Swiggy Dineout could study your preferences and might come up with an alternate interaction called Book-me-a-Table.
Random experiences seems to be the only way out.
Due to the sheer lack of time and abundance of choice users need simpler interactions with products. Too much information calls for alternate and experimental navigation models.
To balance the overload of features, growing products are creating newer interaction and navigational models in their interfaces to automate the decision making process for users.
With AI, these products are constantly learning choices and users might eventually let go of active decision making by handing over their "interaction decision" to the system.
User functions driven by indecision are turning into system functions and the interfaces seem to be turning simpler. However, they are taking out the fun of the very experience they were envisioned for.
Here are two live examples of how global consumer products are addressing the problem of "interaction indecision". (I coined this new term, as if our current industry jargon was not enough)
1) Netflix
The Netflix play-something feature is proof of how much global users are agonised by the constant need for decision making.Even the Play-Something feature is quite daunting and seems to be adding to the indecision. Will this open up another interaction alternative called Play-Something-Else.
To what end?
2) Wikipedia
Wikipedia’s Read-a-Random article feature allows users to read an article randomly. This is probably designed to suit the user's reading preferences, however I can't make a definitive statement here. There is an unimaginable amount of content on Wikipedia and the final option seems to be Read-a-Random article. (Feature available on the left pane of the website)
3) Other Potential Examples
I think, eventually we'll get to experience alternate interaction models in most products. For example in food delivery apps like Zomato, Swiggy, or Grab users are spoilt with the choice of food and we all know the agony we go through with so much choice.A simple "Order-me-Something" button could be the only way out.
A restaurant booking product like Swiggy Dineout could study your preferences and might come up with an alternate interaction called Book-me-a-Table.
Random experiences seems to be the only way out.
Netflix “play something” and Wikipedia’s “random article” shows how much global users are tired navigating, confused, lack time and want simpler interactions with products. Too much information calls for newer, alternate and experimental navigation models.
