The Myth

Why is new technology so hard to use for the vast majority of users?

1. Whose problem is this anyway?

I’m not a Luddite ok? 

I am technically a millennial, in my 30s (ok just barely), and pretty good with technology in general.  I’m not a hardcore software engineer, but can write a bit of code, have a degree in IT, and worked in bioinformatics. 

There’s no obvious reason why I would find a piece of software more difficult to use than the average person, but this does raise an interesting point - the myth of the “digital native”. The young person who grew up with the internet, and can innately use all types of tech so much better than people who didn’t grow up immersed in this but have had to figure it out  - the digital immigrants.

Study after study has been done to measure the digital literacy of people born before or after a certain time cutoff, and no consistent difference in general technological competency could be reproduced by age group. It turns out that everyone is better at the tech they are more familiar with, so of course younger users would be good at games, social media, and mobile apps. Give them a piece of software used in professional enterprise applications, and they are as clueless as boomers trying to update their iPads.

Familiarity and frequency of use are the biggest predictors of technological ability, not the year you were born.

So why then, does using any new app or software just plain old suck?  Is it just me?  Everything needs updating all the time, and all the buttons, menus, and functions are never where you left them.  Or it stays the same forever, until it’s no longer compatible, full of security holes, and/or your data gets hacked for the dark web because no one has been maintaining it.  The frustrating thing is that software has never been more powerful or productive and it’s at that point when we can’t opt out even if we wanted to. From internet banking to online shopping, it all comes down to user experience and interface design: UX/UI. 

Turns out UX/UI is fundamentally a problem in communication, which of course is incredibly hard to get right, even for the best minds in the world. There’s a lesson to learn from this for everyone from big tech, big business, to teachers and communicators.

2. Schadenfreude

There’s great value in positivity and best practice guidelines, but a lot can be learnt (perhaps more quickly) from Hindenburg-esque red flags for what to avoid. Over the coming weeks I will be exploring key UX design principles through the lens of famous failures, starting with Windows 8, released in 2012.

Hopefully you never had to rely on Windows 8 for anything on your life, but it tried to do too much. There was a new touch-optimized interface called Metro, which was Microsoft’s earlier attempt for tablets and touch-enabled devices.  Back then people didn’t use Windows because it was so intuitive or hip and happening, they used it because it stayed true to the formula that worked.  The new interface was confusing and difficult to learn, because everyone who wanted to use it was too accustomed to the traditional Windows desktop interface.

Gestures, touch-enabled navigation techniques that worked on tablets didn’t work so well on desktops and laptops, and even accessing the start menu or switching between apps was clunky. 

3. Flexibility

What I’m describing is a classic example of a failure in flexibility - software should be flexible and adaptable, able to work on different devices, screen sizes, and resolutions.  Windows 8 was designed to work on both traditional desktop computers and mobile devices, but the design of the operating system was not optimized for either type of device.  "Metro" was designed for touch screens but was not well-suited for traditional desktop computers, with a lack of consistency between the touch-based and traditional desktop interfaces.

In episode 5 of the Crossover Connections podcast, Jack and Amanda contemplate the implications of GPT 4 and the announcement of Microsoft’s AI Co-pilot, how this may impact scientific discoveries, and how productivity in our sectors can be better streamlined. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or YouTube.

Windows 8 did not support older software and hardware, which caused compatibility issues for users wanting to run their favourite programs, or use their preferred peripiherals… a bit of a nightmarish rollout. 

The broader lesson we can take away from this is that communication largely comes down to expectation management and being flexible in adapting our message for different audiences and situations. Trying to be all things to all people at the same time never works.  When you try to please everybody, you end up pleasing nobody.

• Develop a separate lesson plan for every new class. 

• Have a different pitch for different clients

• Write a new email for each prospective employer or supervisor you’re trying to contact, don’t just recycle the same one and swap out the opening blurb….

Tailoring your message is the hardest part of communication and it’s worth spending time on the flexibility of your delivery.

What is your least favourite piece of tech, and can your dislike be pinpointed to a UX design flaw?

Talk soon,

Jack.