1% Everyday: Choice Architecture: How many is in Hick’s Law

Time to make a decision is directly related to the number of items you have to decide from.

The decision time goes up fast but reaches a limit and flattens out (a logarithmic scale).

NNG has some design advice using Hick’s law:

Some considerations:

  • Where do you have many choices for a person to decide from?
  • How do you handle long lists of choice? Do you know what is the quickest way for someone to process the choices and to make a decision?
  • What are the implications of the design if people cannot make a decision in a timely manner?

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