UX design mental models

Oct 20, 2022 . 4 min read . 143 views

Mental Models for Decision Making

Maximising

When we maximise, we look for the best and most rational thing to choose from. Maximisers rely on external sources for evaluation. Rather than asking themselves if they enjoy their choice, they are more likely to check their decisions based on its reputation, social status, and other external cues.

e.g: When planning a wedding you will do research to get food from a great restaurant instead of Mcdonald’s.

Satisficing

When we satisfice, we look for something that is good enough. Satisficers ask themselves if this is an excellent choice and meets her needs, not whether it is indeed “the best.”

e.g: When you go to a new city you are more likely to order from Mcdonald’s because of the familiarity. You satisfice by going to Mcdonald’s coz you do not want to risk by betting on other options.

Mental Models for Product Design

Innovation Changes behaviour

The only useful metric for how successful innovation is, it’s the extent to which it changes behaviour. No little innovation has altered behaviour a lot, and no meaningful innovation has changed behaviour a little. So when you design something clever, but there is no change, this means it’s an invention.

It may be something smart, but if the behaviour remains the same, then you did not innovate.

e.g: Slack changed the way we communicate at work. Uber changed how we order cabs. Amazon changed commerce.

Test Counterintuitive Things

While building products we always strive for the perfect solution. However, it is equally important to understand what the imperfect solution looks like so that you can avoid going there.

This is similar to Airbnb’s 1-star and 10-star framework. You need to understand the extremes to be able to give a balanced experience.

e.g: A 1-star experience for an Airbnb Customer would be that he books a property but is not able to contact the host thereafter.

Design Perceptions Instead Of Solutions

Many times people care more about the perception than how something really is. Google vs Yahoo is a classic example. Google’s simple homepage made it look faster and better at search than Yahoo even though technically they might have been similar.

Apple is another example. Apple generally has products that are perceived to be better even though they might be similar to android.

Don’t just design solutions. Design perceptions. Think about how the user wants to feel while using your product.

A great way to go about uncovering such “perceptions” is to ask dumb and obvious questions. For example, when you buy an expensive train ticket you get frustrated when there are no empty seats and all you have left is to stand. And the stupid question here is — ”Why do people hate to stand?”. Seems like an obvious answer — because sitting is much better than standing.

But what if you sold “standing in a train” as a different narrative? What if there were hidden benefits to standing? In our case, what are the benefits of sitting? Most trains, it is comfortable, less stressful and a place for your luggage. But what if the person who stands gets different benefits?

Use Metaphors

Use metaphors to make it easier for users to understand your product. One way is to pay close attention to other products that your users love. Try building similar familiar experiences.

Another strategy could be to get inspired by the real world. E.g: Home Screen is where all the apps live.

That's all folks! 🐰

References:

Finding Unseen Opportunities