I can’t tell you how many software and website projects I have worked on that were governed by a “least common denominator” mentality. Everything, from design to interface, was tailored to thinking of the users as stupid and helpless. Many of the projects, especially the software ones, never took off because the end products were nearly useless due to the need to “explain” everything at every point. This “idiot proof” mentality has several major issues with it, not the least of which, is realizing what kind of client base we are building when we think that way.
Jeremy Girard of designinformer.com wrote an article called “Giving Users Some Credit” (http://designinformer.com/giving-users-some-credit/) where he argues that we are taking the wrong approach to design by assuming users are idiots. My favorite point includes looking at the Keurig coffee machine (which sells quite well). It has a button that says “Brew” not “Click Here to Brew a Cup of Coffee” and users seem to understand the function just fine. However, I would like to take his concept a little further and talk about how we can educate our audiences and raise the “least common denominator” rather than cater to it.
Don’t Confuse Usability With Familiarity
Apple’s iWork Pages is arguably MUCH more user friendly than Microsoft Word. However, users have had decades to acclimate to Microsoft Word, and are unfamiliar with iWord’s interface methods when they start using Pages. People impulsively assume Word is more user-friendly, because they know how to use it. Of course, after taking the time to learn and get used to Pages, I have found most people prefer it.
To continue my now perceived Apple fan-boy mentality, let me use the iPhone as another example. Is the iPhone a completely intuitive and user-friendly device?… NO! I have seen lots of new iPhone users ready to throw it out the window. However, since Apple enforces a common interface across all their programs, users find themselves feeling like experts after they get used to the initial design.
Whenever you make something new, people will find it frustrating to use. You can do EVERYTHING right, and still get complaints on usability. This is because, let’s face it, there are a lot of people who don’t like change or learning new things. The real test of usability is the learning curve AFTER someone has already taken the time to learn your software/website’s way of doing things.
Everything you use now you had to learn at some point. Is a car user-friendly and completely intuitive? Is email? Is your fax machine? NO! You just already learned how to use them. Responding to all your immediate complaints to a new endeavor will always steer you down the wrong path.
Keep Your Tutorials and Instructions SHORT
Again, Apple really paved the way here. The iMac was in the Guiness Book of World Records for shortest instruction manual. The point of a tutorial or instruction is to familiarize your users with your METHODS, not teach them how to do everything. The point is to let users know where to look to find answers, not give them all the answers. No one is going to watch hours (or even 15 minutes in most cases) of tutorial anyway. Taking 2-5 minutes to introduce people to basic functions and concepts should be enough. If it is not enough, then maybe you really did design it too complicated.
Let the Majority of Your Users Train the Minority of “Idiot” Users
“Idiot” users are NEVER the majority, but let’s face it, they can be the loudest. You will never hear from the 100 people who could figure out how to print the coupon from your website, but you will hear endlessly from the one “Where is the ‘Click Here to Print’?!?” user. You could spend endless hours of support and resources making that overly-vocal minority content, and they never will be.
Letting your primary users guide the “idiot” users is the key to managing the chaos. Sometimes, you don’t even have to do anything for this to happen. If you make a great website or software product, people will force themselves to learn it after a while, just because they know others who use it. Creating places for your users to interact, like support forums, can help with more complex sites and services where even regular users need to help educate each other.
The point is, most people are not “idiots.” If you create a site or software that really appeals to most people, the rest will catch up.
Good Karma = Good Customers
Placating to an “idiot proof” mentality means that you will probably attract more idiots. Designing in a way that is user-friendly but assumes your user is capable means you will attract capable friendly customers. You doubt me?!? Here is an experiment you can try: Stand at the Genius Bar of your local Apple store for a while and see who you meet, then stand at the Geek Squad counter at Best Buy for a while and see who you meet (and smell)…. OR, go buy a coffee machine that says “Click Here to Brew a Cup of Coffee” and compare the coffee it makes to a Keurig coffee machine. 
