Has the cult of simplicity got it wrong?

aarongerdes@gmail.com (Aaron Gerdes) — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 08:43:00 -0700

Paul Kedrosky thinks so. He makes the case in this month’s Business 2.0 that “the cult of simplicity” is based on what he feels is a false premise: “less is more”.

He’s correct many designers/builders of web applications are touting simplicity as the answer to many project management and usability problems, but I’m not buying Kedrosky’s arguments that they’re crazy for it. If you’re new to the discussion, take a look at 37signal’s post on the subject.

The crux of Kedrosky’s argument is this:

Consider airbags. Most people will drive cars their entire lives and never once have an airbag inflate. Most reasonable people would concede that that’s just fine and the only bad thing would be if the bag did not inflate in an accident. Otherwise, who cares? The airbag is insurance for the unusual event, so all that matters is that it’s there. But it’s superfluous, so why aren’t the simplicity goons arguing to eliminate the airbag from cars? The answer, of course, is that airbags are too important to be left out of cars, even if they aren’t used as often as coffee-cup holders. So long as they don’t get in the way of normal day-to-day driving, few car owners would have the airbags uninstalled. [...]

What we learn from airbags, then, is that the solution isn’t to eliminate features from products or to reduce the amount of information we receive. The solution is to have more features and more information in ways that are less intrusive and more carefully prioritized.

I would consider airbags a feature that falls under the category “contingency design”. In a perfect world, they’d be unesscessary. In fact, airbags are critical.

Simple isn’t about eliminating all the features a only small number of your customers use. Simplifying is finding the best feature to succcess ratio. Cut the fat, not the muscle.

I think its same to argue that many software makers compete on the basis of features, not on the success of their users. This is where the counter intuitive idea of less is more can come into play. Focus.

Aaron Gerdes: Has the cult of simplicity got it wrong?

Has the cult of simplicity got it wrong?