“Power Law of Learning” — Explained like a piece of cake | Psychology in UX
A few days ago I learned about a great phenomenon called the “Power Law of Learning”.
In simple terms, Power Law states that the time taken to complete a TASK decreases with the number of repetitions of that task.
Basically, if I have a task- [ Book a movie ticket ], the time taken to complete this task decreases as I keep practicing it.
Let’s make a graph.
Okay, that is a good thing. So where should I use it??
Let me show one famous graph.
The above graph shows 3 Designs and how with an increase in the number of repetitions, the time decreases for each design.
What do you think design would be the best design out of A, B, and C?
You probably answer Design A. Since it is the quickest to learn.
A>B>C
That is the correct answer. But not for every case.
WHY??? Let’s learn it with a simple example.
Imagine there is a Bike competition and Yash wants to win that but he doesn’t know how to ride a bike. He can choose either of the two available bikes to learn —
Bike A can be learned in 7 days and the maximum speed is 80 km/h
Bike B can take 30 days to learn but the top speed is 120 km/h.
CASE 1: The competition is on Next week.
Yash has only a week's time. What do you think about which bike should he learn?
Bike A. Correct
Since Bike A can be learned quickly i.e. with a small number of repetitions the task can be mastered easily. Within a few repetitions, you can complete the task super fast.
CASE 2: The competition is on Next month.
What do you think about which bike should he learn?
Bike B. Correct
Since we have no limitations on repetitions, we can perform the task many times and can master it. It will take more time to master Bike B than Bike A but the top speed is far greater than Bike A.
So both bike is super helpful when used correctly in different situations.
Similarly, while designing a digital product, it is important to choose what kind of user flow you want it to have it.
If your user wants the task done really quickly but doesn’t have enough time. Use BIKE A concept. Example — Applying for a VISA. Applying for a VISA is not something a person will do every day. So the process should be fast to learn.
If your user is using your product on daily basis, your user will get a sufficient amount of repetition. Use the BIKE B concept. Example — Filling up the EOD report by each employee. Since employees are performing the same task every day, you can make the process super fast where a number of repetitions aren’t a problem.
I hope you find this interesting. I am always open to a discussion.
Until we meet next time,
Yash Bansal ( UX Designer and a Film Maker)
