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Are you considering the developer’s mental model?
How implementation models hinder good design.
I’ve noticed a recurring mistake that most early-stage startup founders tend to make. My experience working with over a dozen startups has consistently highlighted this issue. This is mostly intended for founders and early teams. It will also be useful to those working on something new. I’ve seen positive results in my work with early products, and some of the ideas and discussions have been helpful to the founders I’ve worked with. That’s why I decided to write it all down and share it. The text came out quite lengthy, but hopefully, you’ll find something useful in it.
Before we begin, let me give you a brief overview of what you’ll find here:
- What is a founder’s mistake: an analysis of a common mistake founders make when designing interfaces.
- What are mental models: a brief overview of mental models and their importance for product design.
- My experience of exploring mental models: personal impressions of applying mental models in developing a biotech platform.
- Frameworks and tips for using mental models: practical advice for founders on how to incorporate mental models into their work, even without a designer on the team.
The founder’s mistake
The mistake founders often make is designing a product interface that fully reflects the logic of its development or backend. And this is completely natural! Our brains tend to rely on what we already know, especially when we’re building something new (yes, I know this sounds complicated, but I’ll explain later). However, in this process, a key aspect is often overlooked — the actual users have their own mental model and interact with the product and act according to it. They formed it through all their previous experiences, expectations, and external information (whether it’s your marketing materials, social media, or recommendations from friends).
One of the key factors for a product’s success isn’t just the innovative technology you’re rightfully proud of, but also the ability to understand user perception and communicate the value of that technology through an intuitive and clear interface.
