I don’t know how my mind dysfunctions. But most of the time when someone gives me a rule, I automatically question it or try to break it. This isn’t always true. Early in my career, I would follow the rules of UX to a tee. I didn’t know any better and was too green to have experiences where the rules didn’t work or to know they weren’t applicable to the situation.
“being able to recover quickly from failure is more important than having failures less often“
Some design activities are for creating knowledge for the designer, other activities are for creating understanding for stakeholders, and others are for evaluating assumptions. Sometimes it’s better to hand dig and pan for gold before bringing in the bulldozer. What is the right method? Again — it depends on the project and how much investment you can afford for the results you need.
This first law is simply a question which sets a foundation for designers to intentionally choose a “design way” that is best for their organization: When do you pay for knowledge, and how much will it cost when you pay for it?
The 15 Rules Every UX Designer Should Know 1. UX is not (only) UI User Interface is a part of User Experience 2. Know your audience User research is a natural first step in the design process 3. You are not the user Testing with real users is an essential part of the design process 4. Adapt design for short attention spans Don’t overwhelm users with too much information 5. The UX process isn’t set in stone Adapt your design process for the product you design 6. Prototype before you build a real product The design phase for digital products should include a prototyping stage 7. Use real content when designing Avoid Lorem Ipsum and dummy placeholders 8. Keep things simple and consistent The hallmark of a great user interface is simplicity and consistency 9. Recognition over recall Showing users elements they can recognize improves usability versus needing to recall items from scratch 10. Make design usable and accessible Design for a diverse set of users that will interact with your products 11. Don’t try to solve a problem yourself Design is team sport — don’t work in isolation 12. Don’t try to solve everything at once Design is an iterative process 13. Preventing errors is better than fixing them Whenever possible, design products to keep potential errors to a minimum 14. Offer informative feedback An app or website should always keep users informed about what is going on 15. Avoid dramatic redesigns Remember Weber’s Law of Just Noticeable Differences