What Is Friction?
First let me clarify that I’m talking about Friction related to software, not the “real world” even though the concepts are the same.
With apps or software, friction refers to the amount of work or difficulty of doing things. For instance, how many steps does it take to sign up for a new app? Do I have to enter every last piece of information about myself, or can I just login using Facebook or Twitter?
Friction extends to all things within an app, and the more friction there is, the less likely people are going to get past those friction points because it’s too much work.
Here’s an example that I’m experiencing right now with Foursquare on the iPhone. I used to check in a lot. But for whatever reason (whether it’s Foursquare’s app, iOS 5’s new software, or just something funky going on with my specific unjailbroken device), whenever I close the app down and try to get back in, I have to go through the login process all over again. That’s painful.
The alternative is what’s called “persistence”, which is how the app used to work. You log in once and, unless you completely delete the app from your phone, you continue to stay logged in. So, each time you open the app, you don’t have to enter your username and password again and again. That’s a small bit friction. And the more it happens, the more painful and frustrating it becomes, until eventually you just stop using the app.
And that’s the kiss of death for any software company or startup.
Social Gaming Friction
I’ve been playing around with a few social games on Facebook (e.g., lolapp’s Ravenwood or Zynga’s new Castleville) in order to better understand the dynamics of why people are attracted to them and why people play.
Let’s use Castleville as an example. One of the first things I noticed is an extreme amount of disruption and friction present almost from the beginning. The amount of pop-up tutorials and easily understood notifications is so jarring and disruptive that I find myself fighting the desire to click that little ‘x’ button on the entire browser tab.
Granted, some of that may be necessary, but I have to imagine that better game design could get rid of that.
I think you should teach people how to play the game by letting them play the game. This (absolutely hilarious) YouTube video extolls these virtues, as it relates to Megaman. Just watch it, you won’t regret it:
Getting Started Friction
Boy, is this one a doosie. I’m sure you’ve heard of the studies that the various search engines (i.e., Google) have done to determine how much speed affects people using their services. Basically, milliseconds matter after pushing that Search button. People are lazy and are used to things loading fast.
If you make them read (gasp!), sign up for something, or just plain wait for your app, whether to load up, or to get in for the first time, well, you’re losing a ton of potential users and eventually paying customers.
Frictionless Demos
It still baffles my mind that startups spend so much time A/B testing colors, layout, and copy on homepages instead of just letting people jump right into the app. Don’t describe it to me, let me play with it!
I’ll use my example of Basecamp again. What if Basecamp took a page out of Google’s playbook. Imagine the following scenario for a moment:
In conclusion, I was using the app in 1 simple step (37signals.com). I didn’t have to read stuff, I didn’t have to click buttons, I didn’t have to sign up. And the only wait time I experienced was for the initial page to load in my browser.
That’s about as frictionless as it gets, eh?
Where To Go From Here
You can apply this “frictionless demo” concept to not just utility software, but also to games and to apps. How? By removing that damn 4-second loading screen with your branding on it. Don’t use tutorials, but inform people of how to use the app as they use the app (see the video above).
The best way to put it is one of Dieter Rams 10 principles of good design (this is the second time I’ve used it today):
Good design is as little design as possible.
The corollary being, good software is as little software as possible.
