Recently, I was demonstrating a Chatsie phone to a senior product designer from one of the GAMA companies. For each of their observations, I found myself repeating the same response:
"You can’t assume how someone interacts with the phone."
This mantra stems from the unique nature of our customer base. The only common thread among our users is their difficulty in using mobile phones. Beyond that, they vary widely in physical abilities, habits, and skill levels.
To cater to this diverse group, we've had to fundamentally rewire our UX thinking. Let me illustrate this "undesigning" process with an example:
A common suggestion is to make the large text clickable for editing. However, our experience shows that while some users would easily grasp this concept, the vast majority would accidentally trigger it, leading to an unexpected screen change:
This principle extends to other features like notifications, dictation, and Wi-Fi pop-ups. We've learned that for non-digitally native users, the unexpected is the enemy.
