Again and again, Keep it Simple makes a comeback. It’s back at work, and this morning I read this paragraph while scrolling –
“The one thing that everyone that hikes the Camino de Santiago does is to start out carrying too much stuff with us in our packs. There is nothing like walking miles and miles with a loaded backpack to help you figure out what is really important enough to carry on your back day after day, mile after mile.”
~Dennis Welton~
I did this when designing my first Power BI reports. I threw in all sorts of ways users could filter and manipulate the data and charts. And then through time and feedback, began to whittle down the options, remove pages and charts that weren’t being utilized. It was a learning process for both me as the designer and for the audience. The report viewers also needed to understand what was indeed useful for them, and not just what they thought they would want. In the end, the reports became simpler to update, use, understand and maintain.
So Keep it Simple. It’s good to drop the Stupid that was once there. Keeping it simple is actually the opposite. It shows mastery, empathy, and talent. And since I love acronyms, I’m going with this new one – KISMET.
- Keep
- It
- Simple (with)
- Mastery – knowledge of the subject matter is key
- Empathy – understand your audience
- Talent – leverage tools to their potential
