What if we built a product just for expert users?

We spend a lot of time thinking about how our products will be accessible to new players. So how about a thought experiment: what could we learn from doing the opposite, and creating a new product designed to appeal only to expert players?

Decision-making among expert practitioners of a given task has been a serious area of study since the 1990s. Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM) is the study of how people use their experience to make decisions in real-world settings (Zsambok & Klein, 1997). The area of study focuses on ill-structured environments, uncertain dynamic environments; shifting, ill-defined or competing goals; action/feedback loops; time stress; high stakes; multiple players; organisational goals and norms (Orasanu and Connolly 1993). It’s usually applied to professionals who operate in very high-stakes environments: surgeons, test pilots, bomb disposal experts, top sports coaches. Although it hasn’t often been applied to how gamblers make decisions, several of these focus areas sound like the type of circumstances do sound applicable to making decisions in a gambling context, especially where the game is perceived to involve skill. Examples would include poker or blackjack.

Existing research into decision-making in gambling tends to focus on the fallibility of our heuristics, for example, how when there is a perception that skill is involved in a particular game, then the gambler is in total control of outcomes, with the greater skill-level prevailing.  

This is clearly not the case (as an element of luck is always present, regardless of the game). And it’s likely that the most skilled gamblers take this into account, playing probabilities rather than expecting their skill to carry them through any chance circumstance.

According to NDM, there are several considerations that should be addressed in order to allow experts to make decisions. That is, to remain in the flow of the situation, to feel as though they have full agency moment to moment. And to feel like the situation presents no barrier to them using their expertise in real-time. 

As our products involve designing the situation that our users experience, this will likely be of interest to UX designers.

In a 2009 study, Kahneman and Klein established a series of key principles that should be present into order for experts to make decisions in their field. For our purposes, we’ll apply these to expert gamblers playing on one of our products.

The principles are as follows:

Keep it simple

Kahneman and Klein emphasise that naturalistic decision-making relies on intuitive, fast, and simple processes. So we should use clear and straightforward language to convey information. Avoid unnecessary complexity, jargon, or cognitive overload in your content.

Highlight key information

In line with the Recognition-Primed Decision (RPD) model proposed by Klein, we should help users recognise important cues quickly. Use headings, bullet points, and visual cues to draw attention to critical information, making it easier for users to process.

Provide context

Context plays a significant role in intuitive decision-making. We should ensure that the content provides users with the necessary context to make informed decisions. This includes explaining the purpose of a page, the significance of certain actions, and the potential outcomes of decisions.

Use familiar language and concepts

Kahneman and Klein’s work emphasises that intuitive decisions often rely on familiar patterns and experiences. We should use language and concepts that align with users’ existing mental models and expectations. Avoid using terminology or terminology that might confuse or alienate users.

Emphasise visual cues

Visual elements such as icons, buttons, and images can be powerful tools for guiding users’ intuitive decision-making. Make sure these visual cues are consistent and intuitively represent the intended actions or information.

Provide feedback

Feedback is essential in naturalistic decision-making to confirm or adjust a user’s course of action. We should craft clear and informative feedback messages for actions taken on the app or page. This includes success messages, error messages, and status updates to reassure users.

Optimise for mobile and scanning

Users often interact with web pages on mobile devices and tend to scan rather than read content thoroughly. We should format content for mobile-friendliness and use scannable content structures (eg, bullet points, short paragraphs) to support naturalistic decision-making.

The curious thing that emerges from creating an app that caters just to expert users is that the science of decision-making suggests that we’d apply exactly the same criteria if we were designing for complete beginners.

Ultimately, adding any layers of complexity to the user interface acts only as a barrier to the user, regardless of users’ level of expertise. The great positive we can take from this, however, is to remember that as designers, our ultimate aim is to facilitate the users’ enjoyment of the game.

Far from having to make additional considerations for expert users, our job, as always, is to get out of their way.