What does it mean to "satisfice" the user

And why UX designers should care about this

I’ve been reading Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug and one of the interesting concepts I’ve learned is the term “Satisfice”. Economist Herbert Simon coined the term as a cross between satisfying and sufficient in Models of Man: Social and Rational (Wiley, 1957). In this article, I will explain why UX designers must first aim to curate a satisficing experience and offer a framework to envision clear and satisficing MVPs.

Prompt: A humorous caricature of a man, visibly annoyed, with a computer screen showing a thought bubble. The computer appears to be making him think, causing frustration. The background is a cozy living room, with bookshelves and a comfortable armchair. The overall tone of the image is lighthearted, with a touch of satire.

Quick decision > best decision

Steve Krug very aptly states and proves that in reality, users are more conditioned to choose the first reasonable option than the best option. This observed behavior is a strategy called satisficing. As designers, we build personas by tapping into the mental model of users. Our assumptions and biases direct us into believing that the users are extremely thorough, smart, and know exactly what they want. Our confirmation bias precedes the truth of the research and creates a caveat that can affect the efficacy of product funnels drastically. Not to say that users are ignorant and dull, but they are definitely in a hurry. We’re now in the age of curation with an abundance of information. As UX Designers, it is our duty to craft an experience that:

1.      Makes the users feel smart

2.      Makes the users feel confident about their choice

3.      Does not make the users think (well played Steve)

Theory of small and many delights.

A good experience has a delightful core user journey. A great experience has multiple micro-delights packaged at every touchpoint. These small “satisficing” moments brew a very positive macro-experience and raise the products and business’s trust in people. The intent to build satisficing experience makes even more sense when you realize that these aren’t grand endeavours. Your product would never need large over-hauls to induct this kind of experience. If planned and envisioned well, these experiences can be shipped, refined, and iterated in simple sprints.

Envisioning satisficing MVP

Every early-stage startup I’ve consulted and collaborated with always began with 2 demands

1.      We want a very lean MVP for a quick market launch

2.      Our idea of MVP is basically a super app that can do everything without skipping a beat.

Apart from hyperbole, this has always been the nature of request so over the course of my experience with communicating with Founders and PMs blended with the non-negotiable parameters of good experience, I’ve recently adopted the following framework:

This self-explanatory framework paired with a clear visualization of a satisficing experience equates to a very functional MVP that aligns business urgency with user’s behaviours and attitudes. I’ve also come to notice that semantic frameworks like this help immensely in decluttering expectations. Especially when you’re collaborating with people who do not have a design background, having tools like this will empower them to articulate their requirements and opinions more succinctly.

Write to me if you want me to dig deeper into this framework and offer a real-life example of how to use it effectively!