Living with Complexity (MIT Press)

Apple treated iPod as a service, not as an isolated product. They therefore worked diligently to ensure that all stages were handled seamlessly, resulting in an excellent customer experience.

Modern technology can be complex, but complexity by itself is neither good nor bad: it is confusion that is bad. Forget the complaints against complexity; instead, complain about confusion.

Complexity can be tamed, but it requires considerable effort to do it well. Decreasing the number of buttons and displays is not the solution. The solution is to understand the total system, to design it in a way that allows all the pieces fit nicely together, so that initial learning as well as usage are both optimal. Years ago, Larry Tesler, then... See more