Push optional data entry as far back as you can

Geof Harries 09 May 06
What I’m, and our support team (2 developers) is discovering is that the registration process that seemed so simple and straightforward in internal testing is driving many members of the public absolutely batty. It’s also causing a lot of frustration for us when trying to troubleshoot their problems.

In hindsight we should have made the registration form a lot simpler and with less required data. There’s just too much being asked for, and people are annoyed by the questions about gender, age, mailing address and so forth. Honestly, I let corporate politics and feature requests get in the way of a solid user experience at such a critical juncture (the signup).

Mr. More

Michal Migurski 11 May 06
“I’m here to celebrate Mr. Less. We’re not so different, he and I. We get it. We’re not brainiacs on the nerd patrol. We’re not members of the factinista. We go straight from the gut, right sir? That’s where the truth lies, right down here in the gut. Do you know you have more nerve endings in your gut than you have in your head? You can look it up. I know some of you are going to say “I did look it up, and that’s not true.” That’s ‘cause you looked it up in a book.”

Keep your ambitions in check

I’m With Stupid 11 May 06
When a baseball player goes to bat, does he automatically try to hit a home run? Of course not. Sometimes, a bunt is the right hit to make. Sometimes, a single is as good as a homer. Sometimes, the coach says to swing away and you let it rip.

To bring it back to what DHH said: just because you just solved a Herculean problem doesn’t mean the next one is of the same scale and nature, so you shouldn’t charge out and engage it like it is. You need to step back and examine the problem. Don’t get wrapped up in your own cleverness. Find out what the real problem is, which may have solutions that are much easier and/or simplier to achieve than.

DHH 11 May 06
I’m With Stupid is spot on, but let me elaborate on just a few additional points. Most problems are best served with simple, mundane solutions. It’s often unglamorous work. You don’t get to flex your great intellect or fulfill your ambitions of grandeur.

I’ve met lots of people who can’t deal with that. Once they’ve solved something truly hard, it seems as though the mundane is beneath you. I’ve felt the same sensation from time to time. Solving ever harder problems becomes a drug and you’ll look for your next rush regardless of whether its a good time to get high or not.

bleargh 11 May 06
richard hamming talked about something related to this in his famous speech/talk, “you and your research.” he mentioned famous researchers winning the nobel prize and then not being able to work on anything small after that - because they came to feel they had a reputation and a precedent to keep up. but the small things seem to be what snowball into breakthroughs (which are what in fact are desired in the natural sciences, i guess), and you have to go through any complex problem solving process in small steps at a time. although in that talk, hamming actually encouraged and challenged people to only attempt to do world-changing things.

Dave Rosen 11 May 06
Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be simple. Enjoy simple stepping stones.