Useful Features, a Reflection

In our last client meeting it was pointed out to us that the search box we had implemented was fraught with danger, a trap, a feature that had the potential to make the user experience (UX) worse rather than better. I must admit this took me by surprise. How can additional features be bad? Isn't increased functionality always a good thing? These are the questions I found myself asking and the answers changed how I look at application development.

How do I look at application development? Well first of all, I look at it with the dow eyes of a developer on his first project. Never before have I had to implement ANYTHING with a user in mind that wasn't a CS professor, TA, or fellow researcher. This is a totally new concept to me so perhaps my viewpoint isn't as refined, practiced, or good as other developers. I've always operated under the assumption that more features are better, and in my work it holds true for me. A tool that includes more motion planning algorithms is just better than one that doesn't--says the Alan of last week.

I've been forced to reflect on this though. As I cycle through the stages of grief for my dead search bar feature, I must analyze and eventually accept the premises that lead to it's death. This is my responsibility as a student.

What made it a bad feature? I am standing by the fact that it was a feature, I don't think that word should be defined to only include the good ones. If you start with the assumption that it was indeed a bad feature, then why?

It was bad because it was distracting. It provided a place for a user to do something unexpected and become distracted by the outcome. We are targeting a set of people that maybe don't want bells, whistles, or string edit distance assisted symptom definitions. It's too much. The UX needs to be simple and intuitive.

Overall, this has led me to view features different. I should no longer only ask is this feature functional, does it add capability to the application, but rather other questions. Is this feature right for my targeted user. Is this feature intuitive for them or align with my understanding of their expected technical skills. In the case of the search box of Mechanapp, it is not right, it is not intuitive, it is bad.

Is this acceptance Dr. Kübler-Ross?