Hi Dr. Fogg,
Very good overview of the broader meaning of Simplicity. In order to make it actionable for designing simpler products (UI in particular) it is best to isolate the factors affecting operational simplicity, which in my view is dominated by Brain cycles, Physical effort, experience, environment and attitude (perception). Do you know of any efforts to quantify operational simplicity or the ease-of-use? ISO 20282 is the nearest I found these tests hard to repeat as they are overly subjective.
I am interested in ways to quantify Operational Simplicity for benchmarking.

Regards

Sunil

Hey BJ -

Very thought provoking video and information. Made me evaluate some of the tasks that I perceive as complex and simple and why. The information that you presented also helped me understand why some tasks that I perceive as simple, my kids perceive as difficult because their brain cycle is much more taxing for them in regards to that particular activity.
I can see where this model would be good to consider in light of marketing and sales of products and services.
Thank you for your enlightenment.

Linda

I find this a very nice and applicable model, thank you!

However it is missing an element: Emotion or fear.

For example, I'm currently delaying the task of applying for a job. The actions involved do not require much time, money, thinking (some, but it's not a problem), exertion and social deviance. And although sending resume's is not a routine for me, all the actions involved are (making a document, sending an email).

The main obstacle here is fear of rejection.

Now, may I'm now shifting your definition of 'simple' to 'easy', which are close but not the same. In that case you might want to emphasize the difference and think about why a 'simple task' may still not be an 'easy task' for some people in some contexts.

Would like to hear your thoughts on this!

Regards,

Rutger

What you're describing is lazyness. Simplicity is not an easy thing, is a hard thing to accomplish that only the smartest people can make.