You should design and build your software to behave like a likable person. Likable people are kind, helpful, communicative, and pleasant. They’re easy to like. We would rather spend our time with people like this. 

There’s lots of opportunities to make software likable too. 

Good experiences are often the result of software acting like a likable person.

I log in to an app and see a message that says, “Good afternoon, Edwin. You’ve got (3) new messages.” That’s helpful. That’s like a person who thoughtfully wants to keep you in the loop. Or, maybe I go to delete something and the interface lets me know once I delete the thing, that action can’t be undone. This is good to know. I’m glad to know that before I choose whether or not to delete. That’s like a person making sure you’re properly informed before you make an important decision.

A likable person…

  • Wishes you well, and means it
  • Cares about how you’re doing
  • Listens
  • Proactively offers to help you with things
  • Gives you a heads up
  • Waits until you’re ready
  • Respects your privacy
  • Keeps you in the loop

By contrast, bad experiences are often the result of building software that behaves like an unlikable person. 

If you open an app and it immediately badgers you with a popup full of irrelevant information, that’s like a person who rudely interrupts. Or, maybe you log in and see on the top of the screen, “Welcome Customer”. That’s like that guy who won’t bother to learn your name. 

A likable person does not…

  • Give you vague or incomplete instructions
  • Assume your preferences
  • Bark orders
  • Repeat the same phrase over and over again
  • Creep on you
  • Try to be funny when you’re upset 
  • Leave you in the dark 
  • Let you struggle without offering to help

The thing I find useful about this rule of thumb is that it’s easy to apply to almost anything. You can always ask, “How would a likable person handle this situation?” Asking this will steer you towards all kinds of great practices like feedback, visibility of system status, and error prevention. 

Ultimately, we like likable people. If a company wants us to like them over their competitors, they should be likable too.