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Micro-Delights


Some weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending a Skookum Tech Talk with topic "Micro Delights and the Rise of Craft".  Until that day, I had never heard the phrase micro-delight used in that context. Chris Paul, from LPL Financial (not the NBA), enlightened us. Micro delights are those little things that make our experience, online or otherwise, more pleasant and keep us returning for more. Have you ever begun to fill out a form on a website and all your data appears when you type the first letter of your name? Micro-delight! You know when you get a new iPhone and all you have to do is hold it next to your old one for the data to transfer? Yep, micro-delight! These little nuggets of convenience, have become the norm. If your app doesn't let me login with my google account, I don't trust it!

What does this mean for tech professionals? Details. Collectively, its the minor features of an application that set the tone for a user's overall experience. The CEO of QuikTrip, my former employer, said it best. "You only get one chance to get in someone's pocket." ... He was talking about the [then] new QT app.

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