I met a CFO on a plane flight recently who commented on the importance of the first screen he sees in a software demo. He noted that the more complicated that first screen appears to be, the less likely he will be to purchase the product.
He also commented that a key point here is “appearance”:
– He said that some screens that could have been perceived as complicated were made simple and clear by equally simple and clear descriptions by the demo presenter;
– Conversely, he also said that other screens started off appearing to be easy to understand, but became complicated and confusing by the too detailed and lengthy verbal descriptions.
Albert Einstein summed this up nicely when he observed, “Everything should be a simple as possible, but not simpler…”
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