No More Selfish User Interfaces in 2010
As a team that firmly believes that great software means great user experiences. We pay close attention to the subletleties of user experiences of software and the web so our customers don’t have to.
With that in mind here is one design trend that I hope doesn’t continue into 2010: The Feedback Tab. Over the course of 2009 the more web enthusiasts among us have probably seen it on more than a few sites (example here).
The feedback tab is what I call a Selfish User Interface. It prioritizes what the business ’wants’ over we the users want- as opposed to allowing the two to work harmoniously together. What do I mean by this?
Well look at how large the tab is, on most screens its the most dominant element on the page- the tab also follows the user, in a stalker like fashion, up and down the page. There is positive intent behind this tab, as businesses that implement it obviously want to hear from their customers. The reality is we (as website users) have more important things going on than to give businesses feedback. Interfaces should encourage feedback and make giving feedback painless- but demanding it? Thats going to far.
Perhaps a simple link along with the other top level navigation elements would do the trick. However, businesses shouldn’t kid themselves into believing the user’s top priority is to give their business feedback.
No more selfish UI in 2010.
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I agree with the particular argument here about feedback tabs and I see a much more important general principle as well expressed in regards to preventing the prioritization of “what the business ’wants’ over we the users want”.
This idea is juxtaposed with the preferable solution of “allowing the two to work harmoniously together”; the key here is finding the route to reach that goal. Social media has fostered an environment in which customers are your product’s brand essentially. This is increasingly becoming the rule as the amplified person to person marketing through these new tools benefits or destroys more and more companies.
Giving your customers what they want creates happy customers willing to promote your brand for free. It must be organic though, which is why obtrusively pushing for feedback to discover what they want betrays the spirit of this principle. Even if the business believes they are thinking about their customer first by pushing for feedback directly because of this concept, it is still selfish considering they are decreasing the user experience to do so.
Feedback shouldn’t be demanded, rather, it should come about due to customer satisfaction creating a desire to give it. This comes amidst their larger goal of spreading word of a product they wish to associate themselves with, and producers can reap the rewards because of it.
I totally agree, except in certain circumstances …. I use these for sample groups and beta testers, in this case I think it is totally justified because that’s what the user is on the site for!
@Stuart thanks for your comment. Yep, beta testing and user testing is important. An example of a UI that could benefit from added emphasis on feedback is Google Wave, they could probably make giving feedback, and reporting bugs more prominent, since thats their big ‘ask’ during the ‘preview’.