Law 8: Trust
"In simplicity we trust"
Maeda's eighth law of simplicity is people trust simplicity:
Imagine an electronic device with only one unlabeled button on its surface. Pressing the button would complete your immediate task. Do you want to write a letter to Aunt Mabel? Go ahead and press the button. Click. A letter has been sent. You know with absolute certainty that it went out and expressed exactly what you needed. That’s simplicity. And we are not far from that reality.
Every day the computer becomes increasingly smarter. It already knows your name, address, and credit card number. Knowing where Aunt Mabel lives and having watched you write a letter to her before, the computer can send a fair approximation of a kindly email to her from you. Just click a button and the deed could be done - finito. Whether the message is coherent and keeps you on dear Aunt Mabel’s Christmas list is another story, but that is the price of not having to think. In simplicity we trust (2006, Law 8: Trust).
When a process is simple and effective people will develop high levels of trust in the process. Think of email, if the messages we sent were not delivered or the process of addressing and sending an email was more complicated then correctly entering an email address, would the system be as popular of a form of communication as it is today?
In your initiative there could be a simple process that produces an effective and meaningful outcome. Share below what that process is and how that process is a bridge for end users to trust the new technology you are introducing. Then add a reply to a peer's post and share why you think their approach will be effective.