Microblogs for Living with Complexity

Chapter 1: Why Is Complexity Necessary?

Summary
This chapter discusses complexity in the world, and that good design tames complexity by managing it and making it less complicated. Norman distinguishes "complex" from "complicated" in that complex things are not necessarily complicated and can be learned and enjoyed, while complicated things may not even be complex, but are difficult to understand and learn because of poor design. The keys to coping with complexity include the design of the thing itself that determines understandability and our own set of abilities and skills.

Discussion
I agree that complexity is an important concept and that design should make things understandable while not making them too simple. I like where Norman is going with this chapter for the rest of the book, but he again is too in-depth explaining every concept and example.

Chapter 2: Simplicity is in the Mind

Summary
This chapter discusses simplicity and how that people claim to want things to be simpler, but also want more features. Conceptual models, or mental models, are explained as the way we understand things to work, and the easier something is for the user, the harder it is for the designer. Simplicity isn't the goal--understandability is. Norman distinguishes simplicity of appearance from simplicity of use. An example given is a remote control with few buttons; it looks simple, but is difficult to use, since its many functions are governed by arbitrary sequences of button presses.

Discussion
I liked Norman's discussion on simplicity throughout the chapter--that simplicity is a myth because people always tend to want more features, believing that they will make use of them. So designers must incorporate as many useful (or not) features as possible while still making them easy to use and the entire system or product easy to understand. Designers shouldn't try to aim for simplicity (of appearance, in this case).

Chapter 3: How Simple Things Can Complicate Our Mind

Summary
This chapter discusses how even simple things can still be confusing, since each thing has its own unique rules of operation, such that the combination of them makes things complex. Sticky notes and other things in the physical world can help alleviate this confusion, but can also sometimes make things worse. Complexity can come from the amount of information that must be known, and complexity can be reduced by using forcing functions to constrain the amount of possible actions.

Discussion
It makes sense that large quantities of simple things can become confusing. Like Norman said, even door locks are confusing when each one works somewhat differently. The forcing function suggestion was also good, but expected after reading Design of Everyday Things.

Chapter 4: Social Signifiers

Summary
This chapter discusses how people manage well in new situations due to cues provided by the actions of others (social signifiers). The exact interpretation of each signifier depends on other, related knowledge, and cultural complexity can affect the meaning since it can mean different interactions between people. Good design provides signifiers to the appropriate use of the device.

Discussion
I thought it was interesting to read about how subtle, social clues actually let people know how to act in a situation, although it does seem to be a rather intuitive concept. With this in mind, it only makes sense that design should include its own signifiers to let people know how to act with a particular device, especially if users may not even be aware of the cuing.