IT would be annoying to use a computer that did not behave or respond as expected. System designers and developers spend a great deal of effort to establish the look and feel of the programs that you use. For example, on a Windows-based computer, the apps behave in a similar way to one another. The same could be said for applications that run on an Android device, or for an Apple device. The recognised similarity and consistency of behaviour is meant to help you learn to use other programs even faster. If programmers do not conform to the established behaviour expected of their apps, the users will experience some difficulty, and may be astonished by the unpredictable behaviour. The principle of least surprise protects us from such differences, and provides the programmer a helpful guide to follow when designing new apps.
Fortunately, app designers usually follow the recommended style guides to achieve the expected consistency and avoid surprising us with unusual system behaviour. The principle of least surprise is not restricted to the design of computer systems, but can also be used to explain other activities, for example:
* Performing employee appraisals;
* Dealing with customer complaints;
* Developing star athletes.
In a well-managed enterprise, the employees should expect to be generally aware of how they are perceived or how well they are performing. If staff discover that they are not performing only when they are being formally assessed, then something is probably faulty with the operations of that enterprise.
You might know the saying that “bad news travels fast.” Unhappy customers usually complain more forcefully than the happy customers who share good news stories! With the rise of social media, this rapid sharing of complaints may cause unexpected storms of anger to develop. Such surprises should serve as a warning to improve service delivery.
Finally, our country is represented at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games by some athletes whose names should be well-known to us all. If these athletes are not already recognised as household names, that is a sign we have not done enough to support and promote them along their Olympic journey. It also suggests the possibility of overlooked athletes who are not yet recognised for their talents. Could there be potential Olympians about to give up because of insufficient support or encouragement during the early stages of their development?
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About the Author
Dr.Lyndell St. Ville is an ICT Consultant based in Saint Lucia. His expertise includes systems analysis, design, and capacity building. The focus being on doing things differently, and better.