Recently, a client told me we needed to redesign the main data-entry form of their company’s flagship product. Customers said they didn’t like the form in our client’s SaaS or cloud-based software. Despite extra training, customers still felt apprehensive and intimidated by its complexity.
The online form was built a few years earlier, without a designer—as is typical of start-ups. But the product owner said customers wanted the software to be easier to learn and use.
We were tasked with simplifying the main data-entry form. We did this by simplifying the mental model from one we called “Surprise juggling” to one called “Got gossip? Fill me in”.
Our user research and analysis proved that the new mental model let users work faster with fewer errors.
Continue reading “The right mental model makes software easier”