LCMS is going to UXPA!

by Danielle Cooley

Are you a Less Content. More Strategy fan?

Are you going to the UXPA conference in Washington, D.C. July 9-12?   

If so, stop by the poster session and briefly relive your favorite LCMS memories. (And get an update on that "thanks for adding more content" post from a few weeks ago!) 

You say "Experience Rot," I say...

by Danielle Cooley

... Hell yeah!​ I love it:

Welcome to the effects of Experience RotAs you add features, you’re adding complexity to the design, and decreasing the quality of the experience.

http://www.uie.com/articles/experience_rot/

What a hell of a spin to put on the concept. Yes, he technically refers to features, but content bloat leads to Experience Rot just as feature bloat does. (I mean, all of those features come with content, don't they? But even if we're just talking about brochureware, the concept applies.) ​

Here, we more gently talk about how it might be a good idea to think carefully about adding content that isn't absolutely critical. We talk a bit about signal-to-noise ratio. We talk about ROI. And that's all well and good, but leave it to Jared to get in your face with the consequences of an inability to deal with feature (and yes, content) bloat. 

​Thankfully, he also provides a handy weapon to guard against this horrible state. No. You can say "No." 

"No. You shouldn't add a preference selection for every control you're not willing to conduct actual user research on." ​

"No. It's not better to build a product for grandmothers, twenty-somethings, small business owners, and freelancers. Pick one."​

"No. You shouldn't make an instructional video to explain to site visitors how the navigation works."​

The Kansas State team did it.​

Clare Cotungo and the Electronic Ink team did it.​ (via Angela Colter)

Fake Grimlock understands.

And so. can. you! 

Living With Less. A Lot Less.

by Danielle Cooley

Did everyone catch this New York Times article by Grant Hill?​

It's awesome. Best line?​

Often, material objects take up mental as well as physical space.

​So true. And true for digital as well. I rail a bit here about ROI. Basically, that content costs money, and you should spend your money purposefully and wisely. But useless content also has a mental cost. A mental cost for your team. More stress. Lower morale. Don't downgrade their jobs to digital busywork. Make sure the content they're creating, approving, maintaining, governing, and archiving is meaningful.