The shift from "make decisions easier" to "only present decisions when they matter" is such a crucial distinction that most teams miss. Your point about designing for the laziest, most impatient user resonates deeply. The cognitive load from accumulated micro-decisions is real; each choice feels harmless individually, but together they create friction that kills momentum before users experience the core value.
The OpenAI agent example is perfect. Instead of building another dashboard with dropdowns and toggles, they created an interface that handles complexity through intent. Users express what they want, the system figures out how to deliver it. What strikes me most is how this connects to the broader shift from tool centric to outcome centric design. Users don't want to learn our product's mental model; they want to achieve their goals with minimal friction.
One thing I'd add: the key is knowing which decisions actually matter to users versus which ones we think should matter. Often what feels like an important choice to the product team is just exposed internal complexity to the user. Lovable's approach of handling the technical complexity in the background while users just describe their intent is exactly where I think most SaaS tools need to head. Less configure your settings and more tell me what you're trying to accomplish. Overall great post 👍🏾!
The shift from "make decisions easier" to "only present decisions when they matter" is such a crucial distinction that most teams miss. Your point about designing for the laziest, most impatient user resonates deeply. The cognitive load from accumulated micro-decisions is real; each choice feels harmless individually, but together they create friction that kills momentum before users experience the core value.
The OpenAI agent example is perfect. Instead of building another dashboard with dropdowns and toggles, they created an interface that handles complexity through intent. Users express what they want, the system figures out how to deliver it. What strikes me most is how this connects to the broader shift from tool centric to outcome centric design. Users don't want to learn our product's mental model; they want to achieve their goals with minimal friction.
One thing I'd add: the key is knowing which decisions actually matter to users versus which ones we think should matter. Often what feels like an important choice to the product team is just exposed internal complexity to the user. Lovable's approach of handling the technical complexity in the background while users just describe their intent is exactly where I think most SaaS tools need to head. Less configure your settings and more tell me what you're trying to accomplish. Overall great post 👍🏾!
Hick’s Law meets Occam’s Razor: fewer choices mean faster outcomes.