10 Commandments of UX
I’ve used the expression “first commandment of usability” in many conversations over the years. I decided to put them down in a list… because UX and humor can mix, right?
#1 Thou art not the user
Neither thou, nor thy product managers, nor thy developers should start sentences with “But users want…”. Thou knowest not.
#2 Thou shalt not play the role of the user.
If thou art pretending to be the user or if thou imagineth what “users will say” then thou might not be testing thy designs properly.
# 3 Thou shalt not design in a vacuum.
Thy product managers, business analysts, and developers are all smart people whose input can positively affect the design and must be included in the design, review, and testing process.
# 4 Thou shalt test thy designs with real users.
- Thy users have real-world perspectives of astonishing proportions that provide valuable insights.
- Thy users lack a taste for snazzy design. Provest thou thine ideas with the user for thou knowest not what is best.
- Include thy teammates and stakeholders in user testing.
- Thy user is always right — especially when they disagree with thine “informed design decisions”.
# 5 Thou shalt not maketh thy user to feel stupid.
Forcing thy user to “navigate by braille” and learn how to properly use thy UI by bumping into errors is an abomination. Maketh the flow clear and preventeth the error in the first place.
#6 Thou shalt not taketh away functionality
Moving or removing capabilities without practicing proper training and testing will landeth thou in hot water.
#7 Thou shalt not decorate the page
Thine UI is not a Christmas tree and therefore hath no need of ornamentation by way of excessive icons or decorative color schemes. Thy UI need not be festive and merry. Thy UI is a spoon to serve up information and functionality and thus worketh best when not obtrusive.
#8 Thou shalt establisheth the physics of thy product’s UI universe and writeth a design & interaction style guide.
- Thou art not the consumer of thy style guide. Writeth thou thorough and precise design and interaction directions that can be read and understood whenst thou art unavailable.
- Thou shalt not disobey thine own laws of physics and allow “just one exception” to the style guide.
- Includeth thou precise directions on how to make all style elements accessible.
#9 Thou must speaketh in plain language.
- Know thou that while thy teammates are highly intelligent people, they have not read the same design books as thou hast. Peppering thy speech with design jargon will causeth thy team to stop listening.
- Know thou that thy team members may not be native English speakers. Speaketh in direct, simple language. Pauseth to make sure thy message has been comprehended.
- Know thou that it is likely that even thou dost not truly understand what “affordances” means. Cease the use of this word in normal conversation. Thou soundeth as a pretentious goose.
# 10 Thou shalt stay teachable.
Shutteth thou thy mouth and listen with radical attentiveness.
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