Living With Complexity

Reference
Living With Complexity
- Donald A. Norman

Summary
Norman’s general theme for this book was why complexity exists and why it plagues people so much.  Complexity must exist, because our lives are complex in nature.  Some ideas and tasks are complex, so naturally their designs must also be complex.  However, he explains that complex designs can be catered the right group of people and by doing so this avoids unnecessary complications in the design.  Poor designs in general result from the failure to properly implement a complex or even simple concept.  The first place to start in avoiding complications is with a good conceptual model of the design.  Without a deep understanding of the problem and final goal, proper inner workings of the design to streamline cannot be possible.

Even when designs are simple in nature and relatively straightforward, many different designs all geared towards the same purpose can be extremely confusing.  People grow accustomed to performing an action in a certain way.  When a slightly different way is presented, this  can really throw a person off.  If the design utilizes visual cues, this can greatly decrease the chances of this problem from being a concern.  Another way people can help themselves is to use their social signifiers.  In the case of the door knob, people can pay attention to how others react to it and then no longer have the problem of figuring it out on their own on the fly.

Discussion
Like Norman’s other books, he takes a relatively simple idea and helps you to look at it from a different perspective.  I had never really noticed so many well-designed complex systems before.  They were always there, but it took looking at a concept differently to truly pick up on these small details.  This also helps me to see the poorly designed implementations of things.  Organizing complex options and features can be a difficult task, but all it takes sometimes is coming up with a sufficient conceptual model to see a clever way of laying things out.  I hope to remain to be more aware of these things in the future and not fall prey to creating a truly terrible design myself.

Book Reading 52 – Living With Complexity

Chapter 3 – How Simple Things Can Complicate Our Mind
Summary
Norman talks about how the numerous simple designs for the same function can easily confuse our minds.  A prominent example is the door knob or a car door lock.  Universal standards do not exist for how to design these devices, so there are many designs that exist to accomplish the task of these objects.  Each new design we encounter required us to rethink how to do the same general action with the new tool.  One way design has helped this problem is using visual cues to give hints to people on how to use the specific design.

Discussion
Door knobs seem to come up in a lot of Norman’s books.  But, it is always such a great example for so many different scenarios.  The same goes for door locks.  I am sure everyone has been confused about how to open the door from the inside of a foreign at some point in time.  Or maybe you have had to explain your own car to a friend.  It doesn’t take long to figure these things out, but it surely would help if all of these devices were a little more similar among themselves.

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Chapter 4 – Social Signifiers
Summary
Social signifiers can play a large role in simplifying the world around us.  One example that was given was how salt and pepper shakers are usually fairly simple to tell apart even with all the different designs that exist.  Norman states how we all tend to was the people around us as we try to blend in.  Following what other do helps us in making more sense of the complex world we live in.

Discussion
Quite often, I will purposely choose to not go first for performing some unfamiliar task.  Instead, I will watch the others perform it first, and then emulate what they do, or sometimes improve upon their methods.  This is nothing new though since many people tend to do this very thing.  Also, if salt and pepper shakers can be easily recognizable even with all of their diverse designs, why can’t the same be said for door knobs?

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Book Reading 51 – Living With Complexity

Chapter 1 – Why Is Complexity Necessary?
Summary
Norman explains the difference between a design being complex and a design being complicated.  He states that complex things exist because our lives are very complex.  There is no getting around the complex design of a jet cockpit control panel because the complexity of the technology requires it.  Good design can help alleviate how complicated the control panel is to individuals trained to use it.  Poor design on the other hand can make simple and complex things more complicated and overwhelming than they have to be.

Discussion
As common sense as some of this sounds, there are too many examples of bad design for this to be completely trivial.  If the design is created correctly, something as complex as video encoding software can be made simple to use.  But something as simple as a door can be complicated to use when the design is poorly executed.

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Chapter 2 – Simplicity is in the Mind
Summary
Norman discusses the importance of the conceptual model.  At a glance, complex things can be difficult to manage.  But with a proper conceptual design,  a deeper understanding of the complexities of the situation can help make an intuitive design that alleviates the chance of it being complicated.  Over simplification can be detrimental just as an overabundance of features can as well.  The trick is to manage complexity with good design that will then yield better usability.

Discussion
The first thing I like to do before starting a program is to think for awhile and come up with a plan for how to best arrange and tackle the problem.  This usually entails drawing sketches and diagrams too.  Many people probably go about this process in the same way, and this is because having a conceptual model for a design is so important.  In the earlier days of programming, a lot of us probably just start writing code and came up with ideas on the fly.  The downside to this the inevitable roadblocks that will occur from different parts not fitting together properly.  This wastes time and can generate unnecessary complications in order to make quick fixes for the problems.

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