Practical Abstraction of Complexity

Organizations have evolved into complex organisms with nearly unlimited specialization of tasks and data. Unfortunately, the resulting management and decision-making driving this complexity often create unwanted inefficiencies and training problems. Too often, teams find a large amount of tacit knowledge embedded in the heads of a few rather than available to all. Even more damaging to a culture is the widespread use of technology, tech that is just too difficult for the average contributor to reach self-sufficiency.

At the core of the challenges people face is the constant reminder of the overall complexity of what they're trying to accomplish, masquerading as features and enhanced sophistication. What is missing is an adaptive experience, allowing most users to interact with the simplest of functionality they need to do their jobs. Such adaption applies to more than address accessibility issues for disabled users. It extends to machine learning and modular interfaces that can abstract away much of the unnecessary noise that makes up advanced and extended features. It can also creatively hide much of the information not necessary in the moment from view.

For solutions to address complexity in a way that does not diminish from the user experience (UX), they must provide some essential capabilities, including:

  • Learning analytics that track features most used and presenting them at the forefront of the users' experience.
  • Automate the collapsing of less relevant screen data so the mind can focus on what is essential.
  • Provide visual cues to highlight top priorities for a user's attention while not creating blindness by overemphasizing every detail.
  • Allow the user to create shortcuts to more repetitive tasks to help them avoid screen exhaustion.
  • Dynamically assess when users are lost or frustrated and suggest quick visual tutorials and helps. 

Today's digital solutions need to have advanced complexity to better assist and drive productivity to the high-velocity landscape of business. Yet, at the same time, these same users can become fatigued and confused by this complexity without the right tools and techniques to abstract the unnecessary elements of their digital ecosystems. Great solutions are mindful and adaptive to these productivity-sucking tools and afford better user experiences in the process.

In a world of collective intelligence, organizations must enable all their users to succeed in collaborative efforts to drive better outcomes. Remember, no single bee knows how to make honey, it is just too complex a process, but each effectively contributes to the success of its development.





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