Designing specialised versus end-consumer products

Specialised software facilitate specific workflows such as rendering 3D models, balancing account statements or accessing patient health records.

People who employ these apps usually need:

• More flexibility and control in the interface
• Less interruptions in dedicated workflows
• Terminology and mental model that fits their field-specific knowledge
  • For example, in medical imaging software, clinicians may refer to 'MPR' (Multiplanar Reconstruction) to manipulate and view scans in specific ways.

End-consumer products are designed by a wide audience such as word processors, web browsers and social media platforms.

People usually expect:

• Intuitive navigation
• Straightforward user flows
• Ability to do relevant common tasks such as saving, liking, commenting or editing
• Concise and clear terminology that's grounded in real world understanding
  • An example of unclear terminology was "Walls" when Facebook first launched. There's no concept of writing on a friend's wall in the real world. It's resulted in confusion around post visibility that persist today.

Within an end-consumer digital product, there may be power users and on specialised software, there are new users. A fun challenge in product design is balancing these needs across user types and flows.

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