Decoding the art of UX.

“Why isn’t this working?”

If you find yourself stuck on the same problem and no solution seems to be actually solving the problem, then chances are that you are not solving right problem.

Is it just about problem-solving, though? Of course not. Problem-solving is not all there is to creating intuitive designs, reiterating and addressing user pain points.

The very foundation of a good and intuitive design is understanding the problem and its nature. At face level, it may seem like you understand the problem and the pain points but more often than not, you may be overlooking a lot of important aspects of the problems.

Our brain, by nature, strives to conserve energy and mental effort spent on one thing and so, it adopts these very convenient mental shortcuts called cognitive biases. A cognitive bias is simply a systematic error in the thinking process caused by the tendency of the brain to simplify information processing through a filter of personal experiences and preferences.

Oftentimes when dealing with a problem, we tend to rely heavily on and pay attention to the first piece of information we get so much so that any preceding piece of information automatically becomes less important despite its actual value; or use the first piece of information, based on our past experiences, that to our mind first just because it is available the quickest among the others and saves us the mental effort. It is also very easy to overestimate how many people may agree with you and your solutions in reality.

Majority of the problem-solving process is just understanding the problem and finding new perspectives to understand it.

A very famous quote from Albert Einstein goes:

“If I had an hour to solve a problem I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about solutions.”

Focusing solely on trying on the ‘solving’ part of ‘problem-solving’ can lead to solutions that do not actually solve the problem. A more refined approach instead is focusing on the ‘problem’ itself than trying to come up with a solution.

It is important to keep in mind that the goal is not come up with solutions but to solve the problem, as in the emphasis should be on truly understanding the problem. It is important to fully understand the problem first and scope its dimensions.

Start with studying the problem. Instead of trying to come up with solutions for the problem, come up with questions to understand the problem. Reframe the problem statement/ questions.

Brainstorming and reframing questions also helps overcome the functional fixedness that comes with the narrow perspective on problems and tools. The better questions you are able to ask about the problem, the more versatile and novel your solutions will be.

The point of this is to ask better questions; a new question provides new insights into the problem. Thinking about the same question will lead to the same old solutions. A reframed question encourages more novel and well-suited solutions. Sometimes a change of perspective is all you need to come up with a spot on solution.

The quality of your solutions depends on the kind of questions you ask.

Consider the below example:

If you are trying to make signing up of a user more likely, the first question that one would think of is ‘How can I make signing up more attractive and likely?’

This question is likely followed by answers focusing on trying to make the sign-up button more noticeable and making the services/ offers seem more appealing. This question assumes that the issue here is that the sign-up button is not noticeable or appealing enough. it ignores the true underlying issue here.

Instead, a better question would be ‘Why are users not completing the sign-up process?’. This question addresses the true issue instead of simply layering irrelevant solutions over the previous work/ design, because oftentimes, the design needs modification, not addition.

With that being said, traditional problem-solving approach may not be the most versatile for the growing complexities of the modern world. This Einstein-inspired approach to problem-solving is so absolutely genius and logical and yet easily such a blind spot. Once you get the question right, the solution will effortlessly follow course.