The Toilet Test
A reflective exercise to grasp whether a design is too complex.
A large part of design is about handling, managing and condensing complexity.
Within software, particularly in webapps, there are a number of visual devices that help with effectively communicating complex workflows to users. From side panels, breadcrumbs, modals and tooltips, we have a range of “tools” we can reach too.
Within most platforms that handle complex workflows, the user is guided through multiple layers of content to get to where they need to go or to successfully complete a given objective. This segmentation of complexity within visual devices is highly effectively at breaking down tasks into manageable chunks. However this comes with a trade off, the user’s point of view. Their frame of reference can so easily become disjointed.
Describing how software can become complex is one thing, but how can we actually measure if a flow is overly confusing? Research, specifically usability testing, is a natural tool to measure this but this is costly in both time and money.
Instead a more effective measurement of complexity that I’ve reached for is what I like to call the “Toilet Test”.
If I’m questioning whether a side panel based workflow is too complex, I simply ask myself:
“If I went to the toilet for 5 minutes and came back to this screen, would I know what I’m doing just by looking at this”
or
“If I went to the toilet for 5 minutes and saw this, would I know where I am within the platform?”
And if the answer is no, something has gone wrong.
As well as being more reflective of what I’ve designed, this exercise adds another level of empathy to my design process, allowing me to recalibrate a solution for it’s target audience quickly.