| |JUNE 20229APPLICATION IN IT APPLICATIONSAnxiety isn't caused by the large amount of information in itself, but rather by the large amount of irrelevant information. It is no wonder that, increasingly a crucial part of a user experience (UX) or user interface (UI) designer's job is to ensure that just the right amount of information appears on a webpage or app screen--enough to make it relevant, but not so much that it causes information overload.HOW TO HANDLE INFORMATION OVERLOADStop Thinking Of More As More: As IT, your primary goal is to deliver maximum value to your business operations, but that does not necessitate delivering humongous amounts of data and information. Therefore, stop thinking of more as more.Focus On Benefits: Pay attention to the bigger picture and share only details that have a meaning to the business. How do all those details benefit the business? What can people learn from them? Avoid technical jargon by all means.Bring-out A Use Case Or Tell A Story: Beyond data points, how can you share your information in a narrative that will have the audience sitting up straight in their seats? Do you have a use case or a case study that is relevant to your topic or how your information was used by another company with stellar results?Avoiding Information Overload in Designs: The question then becomes; how do we help our users avoid information overload ­ what can we as designers do to try and alleviate the burden of information?Tips to avoid information overload in designs include:· Keep things simple. The less information you present ­ the easier it is to understand.· Keep it relevant. Information that actually meets the user's needs is less likely to overwhelm.· Keep it clear. Simplicity and relevance are good but information needs clarity to be effective.· Provide supporting information. If a user needs more information, make sure it's easily accessible.· Provide balanced information. You should present both sides of the coin rather than just one.· Make it clear what is to be done with the information. What action should the user take? Why should they take it?· Make it easy for the user to take action. If they need to complete a task there and then make it accessible and make it obvious.AVOIDING INFORMATION OVERLOAD OURSELVESWe also need to ensure that we don't fall victim to information overload ourselves. This can be done by using any or all of the following tactics:· Feel free to ignore information. That doesn't mean ignore e-mail from your boss or your clients but recognizing that you can't consume every drop of information out there and not feel guilty for ignoring some (or a lot) of it.· Feel free to take action without getting overwhelmed with all the facts. We all do this at times ­ ask yourself 'what's the worst that can happen?' when you realize the answer is 'probably, not a lot' just take action.· Create an information queue and tackle it on a regular basis. Don't feel pressured to deal with information as it arrives; put it to one side and tackle it in a quiet time of the day.· Filter information ruthlessly. Create filters on your e-mail box and ensure that only priority material catches your eye during the day. Use filters in your searches to reduce the amount of information you get on Google. Only deal with what is relevant and/or important.· Delegate information responsibilities. If you are part of a team ­ don't take responsibility for knowing everything; encourage people to specialize and then rely on their understanding.· Learn to skim. Most information really only contains a key point or two ­ grab those points and move on.THE TAKE AWAYInformation overload is a real phenomenon which prevents us from taking decisions or actions because we feel we have too much information to consume. There are some simple tips to minimize both information overload for the users of our designs and which we can use to prevent information overload on ourselves. In short, share the business relevant information taking care of UI and design aspects where applicable so that maximum time is spent on relevant information, thereby facilitating quicker but good decisions. Anxiety isn't caused by the large amount of information in itself, but rather by the large amount of irrelevant information
< Page 8 | Page 10 >