Quick summary:
Technology can be broadly separated into three broad phases of lifecycle. The user experience also develops alongside the technology. In the initial phase the user experience is inconsistent as the focus is on discovery over any optimisation. The user experience in the second phase develops quickly with the market leader often settings the standard for others to follow. As both the technology and user experience matures and gains mainstream acceptance it enters the final third stage.
Technology doesn't exist in a vacuum it comes from a need, whether it's to achieve a goal, to further knowledge, or simply to grow and explore. I break down user adoption in technology into three broad stages. Though there is a lot of overlap between each stage, there are some patterns that allow us to separate between them. Each stage shares a critical role in shaping the way the technology evolves and the user experience that develops.
The first stage: The inventors on the bleeding edge
The first stage I refer to as the bleeding edge. These are the inventors and creators of technology. There are additionally early user have followed the technology from it's infancy and contribute to it's early evolution. The within this bleeding edge stage you'll find people who see the potential in a platform or idea, but not necessarily a market need or commercial application for it.
The experience in this bleeding edge environment is exciting but far from consistent. It's all very much a case of everyone trying to figure out what does or doesn't work.
For the bleeding edge it's about exploration of what the technology could be, not necessary what it needs to be. There are no definitive methods or standards that have been agreed to, thus leading to a lot of creative freedom. This freedom also leads to disparate experiences across the landscape. In early GUI's (graphic user interfaces) scroll bars were often implemented in completely different ways. You can see view this great article covering the history of the modern scrollbar, or view the many different ways flash websites from the mid 2000's implemented them.
The Cadillac Type 53 - the first 'modern' car with the same controls we use this day. Previously auto manufacturers were all trying out different control methods for driving. For a fantastic review of this specific topic watch the BBC show Top Gear Season 10, Episode 8. (image source - wikipedia)
Often completely new and creative ways to interaction or engage with technology are determined in this stage. Though often many of these ideas have merit, their early implementation often means the overall experience suffers since it hasn't had time to be refined or interdependent technology isn't quite ready to support it yet. Early touchscreens are a prime example of this, they encountered fairly poor early adoption due to hardware technology simply being too immature leading to their imprecision nature. The ideas and experiments from the bleeding edge often reveal something specifically that encourages the next stage to develop the creation of the pioneers.
The second stage: The pioneers finding a need
Following the bleeding edge, come the pioneers. The pioneers mix the inventors with those that can visualize a need for the technology. The technology is raw and unwieldy but that forms part of the allure of figuring out how to make it better. Rather than necessarily developing or evolving the underlying technology like bleed edge stage, they can often be generalized as the group that creates a product or service leveraging the technology. Pioneers often come from within the same business or company as the inventors. There is a history of inventions initially designed for a specific purpose only to find commercial application in an alternative manner.
Typically the pioneer that captures the largest market share gets to dictate the general experience, and that in turn begins to set the standards to which others adhere to.
Among the pioneers are the early public users, while these people don't necessary form the group that develops the platform or service, their early feedback can be help shape the way the overall UX and UI develops. Like most things, this has it's benefits and drawbacks. This early feedback often provides the creators initial guidance on how the UX can be improved. On the other hand this early feedback can also potentially stifle innovation if early feedback dismisses an otherwise good idea simply for differentiating from their expectations.
TXT speak developed due SMS 160 character limit imposed by the original inventor Friedhelm Hillebrand - who originally intended SMS for technical systems between mobile stations.
As the technology becomes more popular, ideas around what works and some initial standards begin to form. Technology begins to evolve to best suit the needs of the early users. Thus the early users of the system encounter multiple iterations of a technology, often significant changes from one version to the next. As the experience improves so to does the userbase, till it reaches the point where it shift into the third stage, the mainstream mass.
The third stage: The mainstream, entertaining the masses'
After the inventions in the bleeding edge, and pioneers refining it into a usable product or service, sees general adoption by the public. In this third stage the early adoptors have accepted and embraced the technology it as part of their lives and are often the advocates that bring the general public also to embrace the technology. Additionally in this third stage standards and guidelines have been set. Users in the third stage have a general expectation on how things should behave. This often means any significant changes introduced in this third stage can be met by heavy resistance by sheer volume of users.
Technology in the third stage has evolved to a point where users have an expectation of how they want to interact or engage with it. Changes to this dynamic may cause hesitation as it no longer acts in a way they expect - even if that dynamic can be considered an improvement.
For example if a platform makes a UI change, 10% of users may have disagree enough to provide feedback. In early stages this could equate to 10 users, in later stages, 10% of users could easily equate to 10,000 users. Though the percentage remains the same, its much more difficult to simply dismiss the opinion of 10,000 people. This was seen often with Facebook when UI changes were made leading to a vocal minority complaining about the changes.
In this third stage, it can be much more difficult to convince users of a new way of engaging or interacting with technology. As they have preconceived notions of how things should behave, it can be met with heavy resistance as it requires a sense of unlearning their learned behavior.
How do you determine what stage a technology is in?
How do I know if something is in first or third age for technology? Determining the first is relatively easy compared to the second, and third. For the first stage, it's a case of whether or not the technology exist primary as a creative or investigative stage. The first stage focus is about discovery. The second stage is typically in the realm of the startups. Taking an idea and turning it into a commercial enterprise.
For the third stage, I personally consider people such as my parents and how readily they accept a piece of technology. My parents are both in their 60's and are conservative in regards to accepting new technology into their lives. This means they make a great measure of whether a technology has matured enough to overcome the hurdle of bringing someone like themselves into understanding the technology.
In my follow up blog posts I'll go through a few practical examples of technology and where it exists in my theorical three stage model.