1. Design should be made with all stakeholders and not users only.
2. Users don’t expect all kinds of hurdles when they start using a product.
3. Calls to action need to be personal, with reminders and with a deadline. Otherwise users will just step over them all the time.
4. You cannot automate everything. But it’s dangerous to rely on human interaction in critical processes.
5. Make your tools easy to work with, but be aware that users lack basic skills. So also make it possible and easy to repair mistakes.
6. Don’t bother users with choices, if they all end up in the same bucket.
7. Sometimes a product is used for reasons that you did never think of. Call it innovation!
8. Use pictograms only if they are recognized directly. Rather use text. (or your users will end up at the elevator, looking for the restrooms.)
9. Minimize warnings and reminders. If used, they must be noted and call to action directly
10. Test your design with many users. (not only with the one that ‘drives in front of you and like mirror-writing’). The others could have another view.
11. Users need direct feedback on their action, otherwise they keep pushing the button.
12. Users will notice your quick fixes sooner or later
13. If your user doesn’t talk to you anymore,this doesn’t mean she will be quiet.
14. If design gets in the way of functionality you are making art, not a product.
15. Make sure there is enough budget after delivering the Minimum Viable Product.
16. Most of the software has features that are not used, because users take another route, for obvious reasons.
17. In UX-testing it is not enough to test your product yourself. You miss things being too close.
18. Documentation should not be needed and must never ever ruin the UX
19. Inform users about your maintenance. Perform it at times they probably don’t need to use your services
20. Stick to what you do best, don’t bring your product to area’s where competition is much better.
21. Never launch a product without testing with actual users.
22. If you advertize, make sure your whole organization lives up to the values.
23. Even the best design cannot cope with stubbornness!
24. Instructions for users work best when they are personal and given at the time of use.
25. Talk to your users in their language.
26. Products must be foolproof, especially for your new users.
27. If the design is not right, workarounds that you never get rid of, have to do the job.
28. Surface what matters and hide the options that are seldom used.
29. Beware of cuckoos that use the wrong product, take all the energy of the servicedepartment and drive your roadmap.
30. Be in touch with users that stop using your product. It might be because they look for functionality that you already offer.
31. In manuals and testing, go beyond the happy path only.
32. If separate teams work on different modules there is a risk that users notice lack of guidance, coordination and communication.
33. Make sure to always delete old messages about outages or disruptions
34. Don’t be surprised if testers miss an obvious mistake. It happens.
35. No matter how good your design is, there are still stupid users.
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Marcel de Dood Consultancy 