Laws of Behaviour

Mental models for product design

012Principle

Delegated Decisions

There are downsides to delegating key decisions to your users.

Why it matters

If you, as the product builder, are unsure of your user's needs (or desires), it can be tempting to simply delegate those decisions onto them.

For example, imagine that you're building a dashboard, and don't know what the "ideal" layout would be.

So, you just let the user have full customisation over how it looks, and which components go where.

It sounds okay in principle, but you:

• Give the user more decisions to make (you've just delegated it to them). • Allowing the user to create rubbish dashboards (low efficiency, lower value).

• Default filters and settings — this is removing the initial decision of " how should I be viewing this content ". • Default views and layouts — e.g., when you use Stripe, you don't create your dashboard from scratch. They've optimized one for you. • Features on by default — e.g., autocorrect is turned on by default, it'd be a waste of time to ask every user if they wanted it.

What to inspect

  • Check whether the experience reflects this: Give the user more decisions to make (you've just delegated it to them).
  • Check whether the experience reflects this: Allowing the user to create rubbish dashboards (low efficiency, lower value).
  • Check whether the experience reflects this: Default filters and settings — this is removing the initial decision of " how should I be viewing this content ".
  • Check whether the experience reflects this: Default views and layouts — e.g., when you use Stripe, you don't create your dashboard from scratch. They've optimized one for you.

Common anti-patterns

  • Assuming users consciously notice every place where "There are downsides to delegating key decisions to your users" could apply.
  • Dense copy and parallel actions that increase mental effort unrelated to the user’s goal.
  • Ignoring downstream effects on churn when shipping this pattern.

Critique prompts

  • Give the user more decisions to make (you've just delegated it to them).
  • Allowing the user to create rubbish dashboards (low efficiency, lower value).
  • Default filters and settings — this is removing the initial decision of " how should I be viewing this content ".
  • Default views and layouts — e.g., when you use Stripe, you don't create your dashboard from scratch. They've optimized one for you.
  • Where on this screen would "Delegated Decisions" show up as friction or misunderstanding?
  • What would a first-time user misunderstand here in under five seconds?

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