design of friction - design encounters conference

Design of Friction

Tomasz Bieńkowski

Senior Service Designer

FRICTION IN DESIGN

The force resisting action of

actors* interacting with each

other.*humans, interfaces and objects

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Omnichannel experience at Starbucks

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1-Click ordering at Amazon since 1999

Frictionless supremacy?

What if just the right amountof resistance, of friction, could

enhance experience?

One slip is enough for a fatal fall

Are you going to get in?

Problem: Not enough drivers availableat peak hours!

In situation of supply-demand mismatch,how to:

Make customersless disappointed?

Make anadditionalprofit?

Protect from competition?

$$$

1 2 3

Solution: Surge Pricing as Friction

Source: Bill Gurley, A Deeper Look at Uber’s Dynamic Pricing Model

Higher demand for Uber

Automatic increaseof fare rates

More drivers availableSome demand drifts

away

Increasedprofits for

drivers

Predicted Effect of Surge Pricing

Price

Quantity

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P2

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Price

Quantity

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Q2

Chart 1: Before Surge Pricing Chart 2: After Surge Pricing

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Q: Who reads Terms and Conditions / End User License

Agreements before using a product?

Over 50% of users do not read End User License Agreementsbefore clicking the „I agree” button (Böhme and Köpsell).

Implementation of Surge PricingSo

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Dissatisfaction of customers

Dissatisfaction of drivers

Customers unaware of price surge

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Sticker price shock

New Solution: Friction Added to The Process

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Friction for Managing Expectations

• Increase in voluntary behaviour

• Increase in satisfaction

•Business impact: increase in revenue & market share

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Designing for Trust at Airbnb

• Profiles:

- Removed anonimity

- Mandatory profile pictures

• Recommendations

• Messaging

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„Racial Discrimination in the Sharing Economy: Evidence from a Field Experiment"*

Some of Airbnb’s design choices

facilitate discrimination

Guests with African-American names

are 16% less likely to be accepted

*Working paper (2015) by BENJAMIN EDELMAN, MICHAEL LUCA, AND DAN SVIRSKY, Harvard Business School

HBS’ scholars suggestions* for Airbnb

1. Alter the pricing mechanisms

2. Limit the flow of discriminating information

3. Enable an equal access to key functionalities (e.g. Instant Booking)

*Research by BENJAMIN EDELMAN, MICHAEL LUCA, AND DAN SVIRSKY from Harvard Business School

Solution: Airbnb’s Open Doors Policy

Ongoing experimentation with:

• Booking help toward guestsdiscriminated against

• Going beyond photos

• Inreacing availability

of „Instant book” service

Expected Results of Intervention

Inreased friction for hosts:

smaller control over guests

Decreased discrimnation of guests and increase in their satisfaction

More transactionsoverall*

* Hypothesis to be verified

Enforcementof the policy

Criticism of implementation of this policy

2 opposing views

Hosts prefer the status quo

Much more could be donefor discriminated guests

Application of Friction for Collective Wellbeing

• Limit discriminating behaviour

• Empowerment of the weaker

•Business impact: more transaction overall*

* To be verified

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Financial Services User Research*

*Co-Research by Kwiecinski Business Advisory (2015, 2016)

Credit cards are tempting and

easy to use

Fear of getting intoa debt spiral

&Disbelief in one’s

moderation of credit card usage

Avoidanceof credit cards

Solution: Damaged (Good) Credit Card

Friction through explicitly restricted functionality

Decrease

in psychological barriers Additional limitsUsage only in selected POS

Solution: Fuel Credit Card (Damaged Good)

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MyKey - Another example of a DamagedGood:

Friction for Self-Assurance

• Limited functionality

•Decrease in psychological barriers

•Business impact: more clients and more transactions

Effects of Increased Friction

Managed expectetions

Increasedself-assurance

Increasedcollectivewellbeing

Productive friction

1. When restriction of actions is needed.

2. When friction (difficulty) leads to creation of addedvalue.

We can also use friction as a metaphore – to challange

the assumptions

Lessons to be applied

•Apply just the right amount of friction

•Analyse multiple stakeholder perspectives

•Redistribute friction within a system to improve the overall

mechanics

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Use Friction as a Tool!

Tomasz Bieńkowski

Senior Service Designer

tomasz.bienkowski@kwiecinski-ba.com