What does “Elegant Simplicity” really mean with respect to software design? I have been talking and thinking about making our software “simple” for a long time. One thing that I have figured out for sure is that it is HARD to make things SIMPLE! Consider the following stream-o-consciousness brainstorming exercise I did on the concept of “Elegant Simplicity”:
Usability
Consistent user experience
Clean look
Google easy
Wizards
Satisfying
Enjoyable
Interviews
Ease of use
Self help
Infusion look and feel
Implementation tools
Outlook integration/sync
Centralized
QuickBooks integration/sync
Import directly from anyone
Friendly
Fun
Export to anything
Lots of white space
Knowledge base
Basic mode/view
Advanced mode/view
Logical flow
Simple
It looks so easy – who would have known it is so feature rich
Some more thoughts:
Ease of Learning
I learned to use it quickly.
I easily remember how to use it.
It is easy to learn to use it.
I quickly became skillful with it.
Usefulness
It helps me be more effective.
It helps me be more productive.
It is useful.
It gives me more control over the activities in my life.
It makes the things I want to accomplish easier to get done.
It saves me time when I use it.
It meets my needs.
It does everything I would expect it to do.
Ease of Use
It is easy to use.
It is simple to use.
It is user friendly.
It requires the fewest steps possible to accomplish what I want to do with it.
It is flexible.
Using it is effortless.
I can use it without written instructions.
I don’t notice any inconsistencies as I use it.
Both occasional and regular users would like it.
I can recover from mistakes quickly and easily.
I can use it successfully every time.
Satisfaction
I am satisfied with it.
I would recommend it to a friend.
It is fun to use.
It works the way I want it to work.
It is wonderful.
I feel I need to have it.
It is pleasant to use.
The ideas and concepts above are intended to stir the creativity cauldron. It worked for me! I will be focusing on some of the ideas listed above is subsequent blog entries as I continue my quest to make Infusion CRM software elegantly simple and a joy for our customers to use.