A “Newer Humanism?”
From the printing press to the Internet, technology is inexorably tied to our evolution. In a perfect world, you could say technology serves humanity in very good ways, promoting well-being, freedom, autonomy, and progress.
With this in mind, we feel that software should be viewed as benefiting humanity’s well-being, freedom, autonomy, and progress. This may sound like we’re a little deluded regarding our effect on humanity, but what if we look at this as our compass in the design, development, and maintenance of software solutions?
If this is our goal, then software and apps:
- are designed with the customers’ needs always being first
- are easy to learn with Support that is always available
- use behavioral and visual conventions so relearning is limited
- are designed so the user is always in control
- reduce barriers and dead ends by helping users to recognize, understand, and recover from errors or problems
- have personalization and customization options
- have a company’s brand integrated deeply into the visuals, features, and functions to deliver more engaging, satisfying, and rich experiences
- are updated consistently to address constantly evolving needs, expectations, and technology
- will not make exporting data difficult, expensive, or both.
The Good
In the last 10 years, we’ve seen great improvements in software design. More than anything else, mobile devices have driven advances in customer-focused design. The limited space available, combined with users’ shortened attention spans, has required designers to create more concise and ultra-efficient applications[1].
Increased competition is also responsible for continual improvements in design, features, and usability. This has forced software behemoths and upstarts alike to meet the ever-growing user expectations. For established solutions, it’s important that improvements and modernization are evolutionary such as Adobe Photoshop or WordPress . When a new and hopefully groundbreaking solution is launched, there is always an opportunity to break the mold. We love this, but the potential needs to be carefully measured against the users’ needs and behavior. A great example of this is Out Systems , a low-code application development platform.
An honorable mention is required for the tools that allow designers to articulate their fabulous ideas. These tools allow designers to push new thinking to fruition more fluidly and faster. Although this is not an immediate benefit to users, the positive ripple effect is eventually experienced in new, more efficient, and sometimes groundbreaking features and functionality.
[1] This is a subtractive approach to designing a web application, which desktop software has also benefitted from.
What Could Be Better
Generally, consumer-based software is good, and it’s often great. We’re so used to exceptional software design that it feels like we’re being Punked when we run across clumsy products. The most common offenders are vertical software solutions that have been designed for very specific uses, smaller markets, or highly technical applications.
Some vertical solutions appear to be led by people that lack empathy. Perhaps they feel that their software can be competitive, with limited consideration for their users. This attitude seems to be directly related to their install base, user captivity , and the cost-benefit of improving their legacy solution. We probably can’t create a solid financial argument against their status quo if they are profitable and their customer base is growing, or could we?
Conclusion
Why is this important to us and why should this be important to every application designer and software company?
Designing applications should focus on people’s well-being, freedom, autonomy, and progress. As technology and software design evolve, companies and designers need to prioritize human interaction. By designing for the digital age of humanism, companies will be more competitive and develop more engaged and long-term customers.
Soup Group will always put the requirements of people first. Our deepest satisfaction comes from seeing great design make any part of someone’s life a little better.