Do You Want Fancy, Cheap, or Usable?

Do you prefer fancy, cheap, or useful? Car manufacturers have found that touchscreens look fancy and are cheaper than physical buttons. That’s why modern cars have touchscreens and no buttons. I prefer buttons, and science is on my side. A survey shows that it is almost twice as fast to perform common car tasks with buttons than with a touchscreen.

Unfortunately, a car is not required to be easy to operate. Aircraft cockpits, on the other hand, are full of physical buttons. An aircraft manufacturer accepts the extra cost of physical controls to provide an optimal user experience for the pilot.

Marketing wants fancy. Finance wants cheap. User Experience wants usability. Who has the last word on product design in your organization?

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