Cognitive biases are unconscious influences on human behavior and decision-making. They can have a significant impact on software development, user experience (UX), and user interface (UI) design, potentially leading to less effective solutions and a reduced user experience. In this post, we will discuss common cognitive biases that developers and designers face, and provide tips on how to counter them to create software that achieves its objectives while limiting the influences of human bias.
Confirmation Bias
This occurs when people tend to seek, interpret, and remember information in a way that confirms their pre-existing beliefs or hypotheses. In software design and product definition, confirmation bias can lead designers and analysts to overlook valuable feedback or user requirements.
How to counter the bias:
- Foster a culture of active listening and open constructive feedback.
- Consider alternative perspectives and scenarios by including users and team members from a highly diverse range of backgrounds, cultures, and experiences.
- Implement a formalized and independent review process to encourage challenges to decisions that have been made.
Anchoring Bias
Anchoring bias is the tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information encountered (the “anchor”) when making decisions. In software this can lead to an overemphasis on initial ideas or requirements, preventing exploration of potentially better alternatives.
How to counter the bias:
- Employ just-in-time decision making so decisions aren’t made until the moment that they will have an immediate impact on the software direction. When that moment comes, gather enough information to make that decision.
- Implement iterative and agile processes to encourage continuous improvement.
- Use data-driven decision-making to reduce subjective judgments.
Availability Heuristic
The availability heuristic is a cognitive shortcut that relies on immediate examples that come to mind when evaluating a specific topic, concept, or decision. In the creation and modernization of software, this can lead to overestimating the importance of recent or easily recalled experiences, and underestimating the relevance of less memorable events or data.
How to counter the bias:
- Collect comprehensive data to better inform decision-making.
- Maintain a record of past projects and their outcomes, and ideally decision logs that outline the thought processes that lead to past decisions.
- Foster diversity of thought within the team to avoid groupthink.
Sunk Cost Fallacy
This occurs when people irrationally continue to invest resources into a project or decision based on the amount already invested, rather than evaluating the current and future value of the project. In user interface and user experience design, as well as software engineering, this can lead to “throwing good money after bad” and failing to pivot early when initial results seem off track or are running counter to new information.
How to counter the fallacy:
- Regularly reevaluate project status from all perspectives: backlog, timeline, user testing data, technology advancements, personnel/staffing, etc.
- Encourage open discussions about the status, direction, and success potential of the project from the “boots on the ground”.
- Promote a culture of learning from failures.
- Establish clear criteria from the start that guide decision making procedures around discontinuing or pivoting the project.
Overconfidence Bias
Overconfidence bias is the tendency to overestimate one’s own — or a team’s — abilities or the accuracy of beliefs and predictions. On a software project, whether greenfield or legacy modernization, this can lead to unrealistic project timelines, underestimating potential challenges, or overlooking the need for additional resources and personnel.
How to counter the bias:
- Encourage humility and self-awareness within the team.
- Implement regular project reviews to identify risks and reassess timelines.
- Seek external opinions and feedback to challenge internal perspectives.
- Provide ongoing training and development opportunities for team members.
Status Quo Bias
Status quo bias is the preference for the current state of affairs, resulting in a resistance to change. In software development and UI design, this can lead to a reluctance to adopt new technologies, methodologies, or design trends that could potentially improve project outcomes.
How to counter the bias:
- Foster a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.
- Encourage experimentation and testing of new ideas or approaches.
- Maintain awareness of industry trends and emerging technologies.
- Challenge the assumption that the current way of doing things is the best way.
False Consensus Effect
The false consensus effect occurs when individuals overestimate the extent to which others share their opinions, beliefs, or preferences. In software development and UI design, this can lead to a lack of diversity in solutions and designs, as well as a failure to consider the needs and preferences of different user groups.
How to counter the effect:
- Encourage empathy and understanding of diverse user needs.
- Conduct thorough user research to inform design decisions.
- Utilize inclusive design principles to accommodate a wide range of users.
- Promote open communication and collaborative decision-making within the team.
Not Invented Here
The not invented here bias is the tendency to dismiss or undervalue ideas, solutions, design patterns, or technologies simply because they were developed outside of one’s own organization. In software production, this can lead to missed opportunities for collaboration, adoption of best practices, or leveraging existing solutions – all of this can lead to potentially sub-par and slower to deliver solutions.
How to counter the bias:
- Regularly review and evaluate industry best practices and solutions through landscape and competitive analysis.
- Encourage team members to attend conferences, workshops, and networking events to keep abreast of the atmosphere of ideas that are new and/or are working effectively in the industry.
- Frequently ask the buy vs. build vs. collaborate question and carefully consider the pros and cons of each option.
By expanding our understanding of cognitive biases and taking active steps to counter them, software developers, UI/UX designers, product managers, and analysts can improve their decision-making processes and ultimately create more effective and inclusive products. Remember, fostering self-awareness and promoting a culture of continuous improvement is key to overcoming these biases (and many more), leading to more effective software products and user experiences that better serve their intended users.
Check out this handy guide to a larger number of cognitive biases.
