Integrated or progressive UX
One of the most basic compromises that must be considered when developing a product is how to prioritize which features to include or not. A common fallacy is to assume that everything can be done given enough time and resources. This is obviously wrong for simple physical reasons (eg: for a bike weight is important, 5 seat bikes are not common).
In the two examples there are several pro's and con's that are typical to this compromise...
Progressive experiences can be taken as far as to a systems thinking where the end user assembles or constructs the user experience by choosing between different options, this can be used to provide amazing flexibility.
For many web based products this is choice will have to be made over and over again. A primary deciding factor will be how fast you want the initial experience to be versus how many features you want to have integrated. For any progressive feature you'll have to risk the user waiting longer than expected to download something. If the features you add progressively are static then you will be able to leverage browser caching to avoid downloading repeatedly.
Variations of this compromise could be:
Depending on the choices made you will determine the base line of the overall product, will it be lean and mean or big and bloated, will it do one thing very well or be flexible enough to do many things?
There are options though, not all features need to be integrated, they can be progressively added. This is true for all kinds of products, for example digital movie distribution, you can start viewing quicker if you download a small part and then load the rest of the parts while you are watching (aka: streaming). The alternative would be to download the complete movie and then watch it. For a vehicle you might consider having all the cargo capacity you need in the car or add a trailer when needed.
- An integrated experience is usually associated with some overhead or bulk (eg: Heavier car that holds more cargo, storing the complete video requires storage)
- An integrated experience can offer a more robust and improved UX (eg: A van compared to car and trailer, No internet needed once downloaded).
- A progressive experience can be cheaper for initial purchase (eg: A smaller car, Less bandwidth used for watching a piece)
- A progressive experience can offer additional flexibility (eg: Attach different trailers to your car for temporary cargo capacity)
Progressive experiences can be taken as far as to a systems thinking where the end user assembles or constructs the user experience by choosing between different options, this can be used to provide amazing flexibility.
For many web based products this is choice will have to be made over and over again. A primary deciding factor will be how fast you want the initial experience to be versus how many features you want to have integrated. For any progressive feature you'll have to risk the user waiting longer than expected to download something. If the features you add progressively are static then you will be able to leverage browser caching to avoid downloading repeatedly.
Variations of this compromise could be:
- Many short pages, a few long pages or a few short pages that load additional content as you scroll down.
- A main menu that is embedded in the header of each page (for a small site with 10-100 navigation links) or one that loads additional links as the user drills down in the options (for a large site with a 1000+ navigation links).
- How to display products in a category if there are 10, 100 or 1000 products in a category.
Depending on the choices made you will determine the base line of the overall product, will it be lean and mean or big and bloated, will it do one thing very well or be flexible enough to do many things?
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