Users Only Care About 20% of Your Application
19 hours ago
- #user-experience
- #80-20-principle
- #software-usage
- The author recalls childhood experiences of deleting important files to save space, leading to computer failures and reinstalling Windows and Office 97.
- Discovered Excel's utility when needing to copy tables into Word, initially thinking Excel's sole purpose was for this task.
- Highlights the 80/20 principle in software usage: most users utilize only 20% of features, but each user's 20% is different.
- Microsoft Office updates often frustrate users with bloated features that disrupt their personal workflows.
- Google Search's broad results frustrate power users who need precise keyword searches, representing a niche market.
- Companies like Kagi, Figma, and Notion succeed by focusing on underserved user segments rather than competing broadly.
- Open-source software excels by allowing customization for specific workflows, like Blender for architectural visualization.
- VS Code and Slack thrive by offering a lean base with extensibility, letting users tailor their experience.
- The key is building software that excels in specific areas users care about, rather than trying to please everyone with bloated features.