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Should Computers Be Easy To Use? Questioning the Doctrine of Simplicity in User Interface Design

Year: 2023

Type: conference-paper

Abstract: That computers should be easy to learn and use is a rarely-questioned tenet of user interface design. But what do we gain from prioritising usability and learnability, and what do we lose? I explore how simplicity is not an inevitable truth of user interface design, but rather contingent on a series of events in the evolution of software. Not only does a rigid adherence to this doctrine place an artificial ceiling on the power and flexibility of software, but it is also culturally relative, privileging certain information cultures over others. I propose that for feature-rich software, negotiated complexity is a better target than simplicity, and we must revisit the ill-regarded relationship between learning, documentation, and software.

Source: CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA)

DOI: 10.1145/3544549.3582741

Author: Advait Sarkar

Institution: Microsoft Research (United Kingdom)

Language: English

Topic: Usability and User Interface Design

Subfield: Human-Computer Interaction

Field: Computer Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

OpenAlex ID: W4366597495

FWCI: 4.247

Cites: 57

Cited by: 20

Related to: 10