This article explores how Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) professionals can harness decades of research into User Experience (UX) to improve their in-house software solutions. The article draws on research from two pivotal players in UX: Jakob Nielson, who pioneered website usability back in the 1990s, and Steve Krug whose seminal book ‘Don’t make me think’1, is still regarded as the bible for web developers. To illustrate some of the best-practice principles, I’ll be referencing our feasibility software, MetricMonkey.
Don’t make me think
As a general rule, people don’t like to puzzle over how to do things. Thinking is hard work, and we are programmed to reserve effortful thinking for when it really matters. In our article, ‘Identifying Innovation Opportunities‘, we explained the science underpinning this phenomenon by presenting psychologist and economist Daniel Kahneman’s work. In his work, Kahneman describes two systems in the…