Great Expectations – Better Experience Design Through Acknowledging Expectations

It’s Friday night. You’re starving and eager to try that new bistro your friends are raving about. When you walk in, it’s crowded. You’re thinking:

1. Damn hipsters
2. I guess I should have expected this. It is Friday night after all
3. I wonder how long it will take to get a table

You’re willing to wait—even though you’re hungry—because the restaurant has received positive buzz from people you trust. You approach the hostess stand and are informed that there will be a 15-20 minute wait. Not bad. You decide to stay and wait for a table.

After 15 minutes have passed, the hostess informs you that will probably be another 5-10 minutes. Still in the ballpark of the initial estimate, and you appreciate that she took the time to keep you apprised of the situation. Finally, after twenty-two minutes, you’re guided to your table…

Let’s examine the expectation setting (explicit & implicit) that took place in the scenario described above:

• The Diner expected the restaurant to be crowded because it had received positive reviews and it was a Friday night
• The Diner anticipated receiving a good meal due to positive word of mouth from friends
• The crowd also indicates to the Diner that they should be in for a good meal
• The Hostess clearly and accurately outlined the time that the Diner would need to wait for a table—even checking in later with the Diner to provide feedback and keep him updated on the estimated wait time

As humans, we make several subconscious judgements and decisions every second. Expectation setting helps to focus and guide our subconscious decision-making engine. It’s critical that we apply this practice to user-centered design.

How Does This Translate to Software Design?

Well designed software establishes, acknowledges, and meets user expectations.

If I go to Radiohead’s website the moment they announce that fans can download a free single, and the server is straining, I’m more forgiving because A.) I expect lots of people to be trying to download the song (like the crowded restaurant), and B.) I have a relationship with Radiohead and expect to enjoy the music that I’ll eventually download. I won’t immediately hit the Back button, discounting the sluggish website (and, by proxy, the band), because it’s actually meeting my expectations.

Users also have established mental models when it comes to software interaction. Mental models are basically users’ expectations of how they will be able to interact with something based on prior experience (both online and in the real world). This is why novelty in UI design can be very difficult to successfully pull off. If the same sluggish Radiohead website where I go to download the song features a confusing UI pattern—leaving me unable to easily locate the download link, I become more frustrated. Why? Because my expectations aren’t being met.

Finally, consider completing an online form. If the form requires users to provide information they they deem unnecessary, the odds of form abandonment increase. Again, the interaction (the information required to complete the form) isn’t meeting user expectations. A form to access a downloadable Radiohead song that requires a user’s phone number or job title will see a much higher abandonment rate due to form fields that users will deem extraneous based on their expectations.

The Art of Expectation Setting

Start by understanding your audience’s mental model. What baggage are they bringing to the table? How have their past experiences influenced their expectations even before they set eyes on you, your application, Facebook Page, content, storefront, homepage, etc.? What is the context in which they’ll be interacting with you and/or your product? Observe them. Interview them. Listen to them!

After doing the work to understand them, you can start crafting a targeted, aesthetically pleasing experience to help establish your audience’s expectations in terms of their relationship with you and/or your product. Expectations can be communicated through content that embodies your brand voice (copy, imagery and/or video to clarify what users should expect) or interaction design (UIs that are deemed “intuitive” are conforming to a user’s mental model—they just get it). Simply stated, clear & concise introductory content, logical site navigation, and prominent calls to action on a website landing page are establishing user expectations in terms of what your brand is all about, what users can find on your website, and how to find it.

Now that we’ve been clear about what our audience should expect when interacting with us, two important details remain. First, do everything in your power to meet those expectations. If you tell a guest at your restaurant that they’ll be seated in 15 minutes, seat them in 15 minutes (or less). If a user fills out a form and presses the “Submit” button, make sure that the form is successfully submitted, and the user action is acknowledged. If your value proposition states, “easy to use retirement planning calculator,” that tool had better be effective and easy for your target audience to use!

The second detail is providing feedback along the way. Let your dinner guest waiting for a table know that they’ll be seated next. If it’s going to take longer than expected, tell them as soon as you have that information. Use a “system working” or “loading” style UI pattern while the form is being submitted, and a thank you message upon successful submission. Display helpful tooltips and/or “Help” messaging if a user seems to be having difficulty (based on lag time or inadequate data entry) using your calculator tool.

Above & Beyond – Exceeding Expectations

At minimum, experience designers should strive to understand the audience, communicate, and meet expectations through their interaction design; it’s more challenging than it may sound. The best experience designers won’t just meet expectations, they will “surprise & delight.” Setting and then exceeding user expectations by considering every detail of the experience will transcend an experience design from functional & useful to memorable & beautiful.

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