Complexity over time

I had parked my car and was unloading stuff from the back seat when a driver decided to shave his mirror clean off using my door as a razor.

My door bent upwards a bit, but I channeled my anger at it and bent it back into shape, so it closed again properly.

I took the guy across the street to a bar to fill out the European accident report.

If you’ve never had the pleasure of filling that blue and yellow piece of paper, consider yourself lucky.

It records all info about both vehicles, insurance, drivers, the situation and what happened. With a nice sketch.

On Monday, I get an SMS from my insurance company to provide more details.

An automated wizard that asked for information.

The thing is …

I had to type in the same answers that have already been submitted via the accident report.

And that happens to often when I see processes digitalized.

The process does not become easier, it becomes more complicated.

Suddenly, you need a phone, a laptop and 30 minutes of your time, wondering what to put in, instead of spending 5 minutes at a counter.

When you’re digitalizing a manual process, it’s tempting to add steps, because it’s easy.

The real beauty of automation is to simplify.

Why not just scan the report, pre-fill all the info, attach the photos and leave an empty field for additional clarification?

It could have been 3 steps instead of 20.

Design it like Dieter Rams. Less, but better.

Best regards,

Taj