We live in a world that is not free from friction, even the tectonic plates that make up the earth’s land mass glide against each other. They metaphorically express their opinion, and communicate their presence to each other. Similarly in User Experience, there is friction that can be interpreted as digital interactions that inhibit the user from achieving a certain goal via the human computer interaction process. Friction is a problem in the world at many levels, it can happen between employees, siblings, political counterparts, and obviously between metal components grinding and gliding against each other in technologies such as airplane and car engines. Friction i believe is critical for growth, it’s a sign of physical and intellectual activity (neurons firing off within our brain), without such a friction, societal progress is not possible. However this friction, must be in balance with creativity and positive intentions.

In the digital world, the most successful digital products and experiences that emerged are the ones that focus on minimising the friction in the user journey. Ex: Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to name a few. LinkedIn has quite recently revamped their user experience to make it more casual and entertaining, instead of being a purely business oriented website. I believe Facebook and Smartphones acted as a catalyst that affected the other members of the digital realm. LinkedIn has capitalized on the work-leisure balance to increase their market share, by having an interface and features that are visually engaging and fun to use. This should serve as a signal to HR/recruitment, it is up to the management of corporates to make sure to hire creative people that serve as assets to increase the chances of user adoption and engagement on whatever product or technology that they are pursuing or investing in.

In my personal opinion and in alignment with the views of many of my co-workers (the opinion of consultants from the top consulting companies in the world.) I view that a frictionless user experience is a must and should be the minimum in the rapid paced world that we currently live in. I predict the speed at which user experience will grow in the next five years will outclass all the user experience of the last 25 years in the history of software development.

If a team can master the art of reducing friction by serving a balanced soup of creative design and software development, they will create a significant competitive edge in maximising early user adoption and accelerated growth. Good user experience is the most important aspect, for the success of a technology company, and i do not say that out of arrogance or boast. One can see examples of Apple and Google, they are the ones setting the standard, and leading the industry, not me.

As technology accelerates at rapid pace, the human reliance on traditional keyboards, monitors, and mice will further decrease opening up portals of further possibilities. Apple for example is currently working on a next-generation Phone that will feature haptics, similar to force feedback where hardware gives physical sensations to it’s users. This further engages the user and blurs the lines between the digital and physical world. The Apple watch, i believe already features a taptic engine that sends physical sensations to the wearer’s wrist.

As time goes on, the consumers have discovered that amount of clutter on their smartphones is increasing with more and more apps, and companies are re-thinking and trying to figure out what exactly is important to a user and what is excessive. It seems like apps are accumulating more features unrelated to their intended core purpose, this results in a very fragmented mobile experience as users move in and out of different apps on their phones. This can be interpreted as a form of friction in a user experience.

Ever since humanity has progressed from the invention of fire, the turning of the wheel and now to the blurring lines between real world and digital reality. Some people are keen on reducing friction. Advanced methods, more sophisticated technologies, and emergence of new ideas will create more jobs for people are required to reduce the friction so that companies can capitalize on the continuously evolving world of user-experience design.

A product or service, in terms of user experience must always be designed keeping in mind where the points of friction are, just like an automotive engineer should exactly be able to figure out where the points of friction in an engine or gearbox lie, so that he is able to guide oil via channels to certain areas so that the machine is able to perform its intended function without interruption.

Friction in the world also carries benefits, for example the friction between shoes and the floor while one walks, without it, we would all be slipping, sliding, falling, breaking our bones. Friction between co-workers or siblings could lead to a discussion and a solution to a problem. Learning how to use friction in a positive manner is sort of like solving a puzzle. Via solving the puzzle one learns how to achieve objectives more easily, and efficiently. In my view how someone reacts to or deals with friction is dependent on behavioural and attitudinal tendencies, rather than their academic or professional qualification.