The Nature of Quiet Failure: When a design is flawed—such as a complex app, a poorly designed tool, or an confusing website—users don't always abandon it immediately. Instead, they learn to navigate its shortcomings, creating workarounds.
The Danger of Adaptation: The success of a design is often measured by user retention, but if users are simply adapting to a bad design, the system has failed, yet it appears functional.
Examples:
Software/Dashboards: A dashboard that provides no actionable insights doesn't trigger complaints; users simply stop opening it.
Physical/Workflow: A door handle that is confusing (e.g., a push bar that looks like a pull handle) teaches users to rely on signs or trial-and-error, rather than intuitive design.
The Goal of Good Design: Good design should feel invisible and intuitive, not require user adaptation.
