Who am I?

Gary Elsbernd

Sometimes I get an idea that won't leave me alone. Whether these ideas are about design patterns, technical development or implementation, archery or science fiction, the elsblog is where I put my ideas and hopefully share them with the world.

I am a passionate advocate for user centered design with more than 30 years of experience. In my current role as Principle Experience Designer for Sun Life (US) based out of the Kansas City office, I am particularly interested in usability and performance centered design in web and mobile applications. 

Grudin's Law

Category: Design
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"If the person responsible for using the system does not benefit, the system is doomed to failure." - Grudin's Law, Jonathan Grudin

We need to recognize that pushing our pain, that is, our needs, on someone else to implement will at best give us grudging and resentful compliance. If we can ensure that the person receiving the benefit is the one doing the work, we will get a more motivated group of performers.For example, the marketing group for a retailer decides they want zip codes from all of their customers. It involves more work for the cashier, and is resisted by customers. If there is no clear incentive for the cashier, or consequences of failure, the cashiers will enter false data in an attempt to make their lives easier.What we need to do in cases like this is to show the clear benefits of the task to the user and get them "on our side". The other option is to monitor and correct issues, but the carrot is preferable to the stick.