Last week, Andrew Davis of Tipping Point Labs wrote a post called "Start Up Overexposed: Too Early, Too Far, Too Fast" that used Pinyadda as its primary example. I encourage everyone to go and read the original post, but in lieu of that commitment, here is Andrew's main point:
"...something I noticed early in my interaction on the new platform highlights one of the major concerns I have with early-phase new media channels: the integration of features that increase reach too fast, too early."
Before responding to this comment I'd like to thank Andrew for his honest critique of our product. One of the best features of new media and the social web movement is the ability to post honest reviews and the ability of small firms like ours to respond. Andrew's keen eye and expertise in the field is something that can only make our company better, and it's feedback like his that is the single most valuable metric of user engagement and satisfaction we have.
Andrew's main critique stemmed from our (now-obselete) set-up guide that asked him to import his contacts before becoming acquainted with the site. If I understand his points correctly, he argues that this sort of 'exposure' has the potential to taint the experience of the initial core user base by extending the product's reach ahead of its development - the internet equivalent of letting too many people taste the secret recipe before it's been perfected.
It's a great point and one that we've wrestled with for a while now as we decide when to push the product, what features are ready for implementation, and what the consequences of each of these actions may be. On one hand, it's very important not to poison the well, so to speak, by inviting people to an experience that's not fully formed. On the other hand, there is simply no substitute for having outside users tell you what works and what doesn't. In our business, particularly from a product standpoint, the work is never done. There will always be cleanups and feature enhancements and new functionality to experiment with, and there is at least as much art as science in the timing of these releases and updates. It is, as Andrew points out, a delicate balance "between inviting constant and sustainable new user adoption without risking too great an exposure to an audience that is not ready to adopt your new concept."
It's something we think about every day, and I'm happy to announce a couple of new features and other product improvements that we think greatly enhance the user experience on Pinyadda and will allow us to open our doors to more people. For the record, we've been in closed Alpha phase for several months now, and access to Pinyadda has been restricted to those we've manually approved on a user-by-user basis. While Andrew's point are well-taken, we have been pretty diligent to avoid over-exposure in this early phase of the product. Andrew was personally invited because we value his expertise in the field and knew that he would provide constructive feedback.
The set-up process is something I've written about before on this blog, and was where Andrew found his main rub with the user experience. I'm happy to say that we've completely overhauled the process, including a repositioning of the invite/import process he talks about. Coupled with a new landing page, the design focuses on providing simpler calls to action, giving users more information about the actions they're performing, and presenting the value of the product to the user, not the other way around.
We've also introduced a universal search function that allows users to find what they're looking for quickly and intuitively, whether they're looking for content, people, sites, or tags. It's the beginning of a series of changes designed to make navigating the system simpler and faster. Also new are several email integration features including the ability to send links and comments via email using a simple "@" operator, and the option to be notified when someone responds to a comment you've made. Both of these features have already begun to influence the way users are behaving by increasing engagement around high-quality content. Discussions are becoming more robust, comments more insightful, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
This kind of interaction is the real beauty of the Pinyadda product - the ability to engage in real discussion around content that makes people think. Seeing people begin to use the product to facilitate these discussions is an incredible experience, and one that makes the vision stronger and the will to execute that much more intense.
Once again, thank you to Andrew and all of our other testers who continue to help us make this product and this company a positive influence in the world and in their lives. Information is the currency of the knowledge economy, and we're thrilled to be playing a role in that economy that helps people stay informed, express their opinions, and enrich their world view.
If you've got any critiques or comments you'd like to share, or if you'd like to be a test user, please let us know in the comments! We've also enable Disqus commenting on this blog so that you can sign in with one of your existing accounts and track your comments from across the web.
Showing posts with label setup guides. Show all posts
Showing posts with label setup guides. Show all posts
Monday, November 2, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Usability vs. Ease of Use
In a Web 2.0 world, we want everything to be customized. We want our web applications to know who we are, where we are, what we like, even what we're doing right now. There are a few techniques that designers and engineers can use to get this information without asking us - IP targeting, for instance - but they remain rather blunt instruments, and often leave us feeling violated, as if an evil internet spy was lurking just beyond our gaze.
The solution is to put the customization in the hands of users, allowing them complete control of what information they share, giving them oodles of preferences and settings, and making sure they can change everything at a moment's notice. Seems simple enough, right?
The problem is that most users won't ever find all those switches and dials, let alone know what to do with them or what mix of this setting and that toggle will result in Goldilocks-style contentment ("a this privacy setting is just right..."). There are a few us who enjoy this kind of masochistic settings torture, but we're not average (or stable). For everyone else, there's the dreaded user set-up guide, a ubiquitous necessity that's found its way into every website you've ever signed up for.
At Pinyadda, we're all about customization. It's our bread and butter. But we're also committed first and foremost to making our user experience completely painless. The place where these two goals conflict most intensely is in the set-up process, and it's where almost all of our product attention has been directed lately.
The most difficult part of designing any component is finding the ability to put yourself in other users' shoes, to imagine what it's like to be anyone but yourself. This is multiplied almost tenfold in the setup process, and the consequences of getting it wrong are similarly heightened. If you can't set it up, you can't use it. Imagine how much business Ikea would lose if they made you put the furniture together before you bought it. That's the kind of thing we're dealing with.
So how do we bridge this gap between usefulness and ease of use? Between customization and speed of adoption? It's a tough nut to crack, and something that probably takes a few failures to get right. A few basic principles we've learned (sometimes the hard way):
- Make as few assumptions about the user as possible. When you work on something every day, it can be hard to make yourself think like a brand new user. It can almost never hurt to make things twice as simple. Then make them twice as simple again.
- There's no substitute for user feedback. It's tempting to stay inside the bubble and iterate on your own designs, but the only real metric you have for usability is users. Seems so simple, but it's always harder than you think to put your designs out there for critique. Try to remember the adage to "have strong opinions, that are weakly held."
- Speed is good, but quality is better. Brevity is important in a setup guide, but quality of user experience shouldn't be sacrificed to achieve it. Would you rather get to mediocre experience fast, or get to a great experience a little slower?
- Structure makes people comfortable. Telling users where they are and giving them a clear understanding of what's next is important. Showing the steps up front and giving clear feedback when each one is completed goes a long way toward helping people feel comfortable and relaxed instead of anxious and annoyed.
There are probably a lot more, but we'll stop there. What do you think? Can you think of a great setup guide and why you liked it? Do you have any pet peeves when it comes to setting up a new service, or any tips for how to make it great? Leave your ideas in the comments.
The solution is to put the customization in the hands of users, allowing them complete control of what information they share, giving them oodles of preferences and settings, and making sure they can change everything at a moment's notice. Seems simple enough, right?
The problem is that most users won't ever find all those switches and dials, let alone know what to do with them or what mix of this setting and that toggle will result in Goldilocks-style contentment ("a this privacy setting is just right..."). There are a few us who enjoy this kind of masochistic settings torture, but we're not average (or stable). For everyone else, there's the dreaded user set-up guide, a ubiquitous necessity that's found its way into every website you've ever signed up for.
At Pinyadda, we're all about customization. It's our bread and butter. But we're also committed first and foremost to making our user experience completely painless. The place where these two goals conflict most intensely is in the set-up process, and it's where almost all of our product attention has been directed lately.
The most difficult part of designing any component is finding the ability to put yourself in other users' shoes, to imagine what it's like to be anyone but yourself. This is multiplied almost tenfold in the setup process, and the consequences of getting it wrong are similarly heightened. If you can't set it up, you can't use it. Imagine how much business Ikea would lose if they made you put the furniture together before you bought it. That's the kind of thing we're dealing with.
So how do we bridge this gap between usefulness and ease of use? Between customization and speed of adoption? It's a tough nut to crack, and something that probably takes a few failures to get right. A few basic principles we've learned (sometimes the hard way):
- Make as few assumptions about the user as possible. When you work on something every day, it can be hard to make yourself think like a brand new user. It can almost never hurt to make things twice as simple. Then make them twice as simple again.
- There's no substitute for user feedback. It's tempting to stay inside the bubble and iterate on your own designs, but the only real metric you have for usability is users. Seems so simple, but it's always harder than you think to put your designs out there for critique. Try to remember the adage to "have strong opinions, that are weakly held."
- Speed is good, but quality is better. Brevity is important in a setup guide, but quality of user experience shouldn't be sacrificed to achieve it. Would you rather get to mediocre experience fast, or get to a great experience a little slower?
- Structure makes people comfortable. Telling users where they are and giving them a clear understanding of what's next is important. Showing the steps up front and giving clear feedback when each one is completed goes a long way toward helping people feel comfortable and relaxed instead of anxious and annoyed.
There are probably a lot more, but we'll stop there. What do you think? Can you think of a great setup guide and why you liked it? Do you have any pet peeves when it comes to setting up a new service, or any tips for how to make it great? Leave your ideas in the comments.
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