A door. A sign. And a lesson in UX/UI.

UX/UI design decisions that guide users WHAT TO DO vs. what not to do + avoiding the creation of unpleasant user experiences.

I saw a door.

With a door knocker.

And a door bell.

And a sign (on the door, underneath the door knocker) that read… “Please use the knocker!”

I loved it.

Why? I felt it was a great example of a quick fix UX (user experience) solution to a (presumably) broken door bell.

Imagine two users/user needs here…

User: Delivery person.

What’s included in the delivery person’s wants/needs?

• To notify the resident of a package delivery within a speedy timeframe. If the notification and delivery process takes too long, the delivery person runs the risk of not full-filling their delivery duties and targets.

User: Resident.

What is one of the delivery person’s wants/needs?

• To receive their package within the expected/anchored timeframe.

With that in-mind, imagine the delivery person standing and looking at this door. If there was NO sign saying, “Please use the knocker!”, they might ring the bell, and ring the bell, and ring the bell… And given the lack of response, they might get frustrated, leave an “attempted delivery” note, and move onto their next delivery assignment. Negatively impacting the user experience of the resident.

The alternative quick fix UX solution here could have been a sign that said, “Bell does not work!”, and NO sign to use the knocker. But imagine the frustration in that? For the delivery person? The delivery person would then have to figure out the alternative “do instead” solution. And whilst easy enough to do, we know that decision making (especially decision making under pressure!) takes energy. And as humans, we typically avoid whatever taxes our energy; often an unpleasant experience. In placing a sign that tells the user (delivery person) WHAT TO DO helps the user (delivery person) avoid an unpleasant experience, and subsequently, supports the needs/wants of the “receiving user" (resident).

So in placing a sign that tells the user (delivery person) WHAT TO DO helps the user (delivery person) avoid an unpleasant experience.

We can reflect on this scene/these user scenarios when designing and building for digital experiences also — web and mobile.

We can focus on making UX/UI decisions that guide users WHAT TO DO vs. what not to do + avoiding the creation of unpleasant user experiences.

And we can also focus on eliminating/removing things that are there (e.g. a broken door bell!) which create unnecessary complexity/further displeasure!