Monkey bars into the metaverse

This blog is about monkey bars

I'm only mildly exaggerating when I say, "I always look to the monkey bars when developing a new feature for our software” and doubly so when the product will incorporate new, cutting edge technology. So, as someone who happens to be developing a product that plays in the space of new technology, I end up thinking about monkey bars rather a lot.

The thing about monkey bars is that unless you're a contestant on one of those Ninja Warrior shows, the only way to get from one end to the other is to swing one at a time, from one bar to the next. As you traverse forward, you'll have one hand on the current bar as you reach ahead. As much as you might want to skip a handful of bars at once to get to the other end faster, doing so puts you at significant risk of falling.

What does this awkward metaphor have to do with developing cutting edge software products?

Precedents. Its’ all about precedents because as I integrate new and exciting technologies into our software, I have to ensure that we have one hand on the established precedents so that we don’t leave our user base behind.

Basically, as a technologist, I resist every urge to design products for myself. I am an unashamed nerd, I love nothing more than throwing myself in the deep end of a product or technology, and figuring out how it works. An obscure code to compile, or achieving communication between disparate systems is joy for me. You may have noticed though, as someone who is currently writing an extended post about monkey bars, I do not represent a "normal user".

A normal user is interested in exploring the cutting edge, but they don't want to be challenged too much on the way there.

For example, let's assume we've got a great navigation mechanic that could let our users swing Spiderman (or monkey?) style from point A to point B. The power users who have grown up with their fingers permanently glued to the WASD buttons (used in place of arrow keys to navigate when gaming) on the keyboard understand it immediately. For those who didn't though? It immediately gets thrown in the too hard basket! Sure, it would be fun to swing like Spiderman, but ultimately everyone just wants to get to point B. Normal, everyday users may learn some of those advanced monkey moves one day, but in the meantime they just want to click on where they wish to go, and be taken there. If that established, "I click my mouse on a thing and it does what I think it should”, precedent isn't available, we lose a user.

This is not to say that we shouldn't reach for the next bar - we absolutely should - but having one hand firmly planted on established precedent means that we take our users on a journey to the cutting edge with us. There might occasionally be some new tech that they need to figure out, but there's always a way for them to reach the same goals with a strategy they're familiar with.

An added benefit here is that if we design correctly and the appropriate precedents and fallbacks are in place, the technology fades into the background. It all becomes about the experience. The user is able to prioritise their cognitive load away from the “I must learn new thing” demand of the technology to “I am enjoying experiencing this new thing”, which arguably makes for a much more rewarding experience for everyone.