Making it simple is more complicated than it seems
11/08/2014
The title of this article illustrates the opposite of its point: the praise of simplicity. Off to a good start!
The natural tendency is to add superfluous complexity. This propensity is all the greater when capabilities are limited. Magnificent examples are found in the world of research where some mediocres give themselves importance by resorting to jargon that only they know; they deduce that their work is of very high level since no one understands them... Conversely, the true authorities in the same context present their results with such clarity that one wonders why the problem remained unsolved for centuries!
Back to a more everyday world. In IT, the interest in simplicity is entirely different. It is the very reason: to make life easier for users of this wonderful tool with infinite potential. In this field, apparent simplicity is very often inversely proportional to hidden complexity. Of course, sometimes very complex algorithms must be implemented to simplify the most tedious tasks to the point of making them fun. But simplicity, in IT, is first a philosophy. Nothing should be added to the inherent complexity of the problems addressed.
It starts with the list of features offered. How many commands, hidden deep in the menus, sub-menus, sub-sub-menus, of your favorite word processor do you use? Hmm? As a result, the ones that interest you are drowned among the superfluous. Need I say more?
Get to the essentials, avoid the slightest click, even if it takes weeks of work, offer simple and useful solutions—that's the goal.