Disruptive Minimalism – Providing Focus in Critical Event Management

I will start this post with a claim: RAYVN is designed for not being in use. This does not mean that RAYVN is unusable. On the contrary, it is developed with high levels of usability. An operative can log in and start managing the crisis without consulting user manuals or other references - even after long periods of not using RAYVN. Our goal is that a user can work and be productive in Rayvn without extensive training or daily familiarization with the software. That is why I claim RAYVN is developed for not being in use.

This is possible because every aspect of RAYVN has been designed with sound usability principles and with emphasis on great user experience (UX). Thus, the resulting software is easy to use and requires minimal effort to learn. The development of RAYVN has been guided by a principle of feature minimalism. Great software is not created by adding features indiscriminately, but rather by peeling away unnecessary layers of complexity until the resulting product serves the purpose perfectly.

Feature minimalism starts with the selection of features to include in the software. The primary criterion for adding a feature to RAYVN is that our customers need it. All proposed feature ideas are scrutinized thoroughly: Does it solve important problems for incident management? Does it provide enough value for our customers? Can its main benefits be solved by extending existing features? If the feature idea survives close scrutiny it can be selected to be part of RAYVN.

All features in RAYVN are purposely designed to be easy to use. We acknowledge that incident management puts a strain on operators and as a consequence the user interface of RAYVN is meant to add as little cognitive overload as possible: the screen is not cluttered with options and stuff that demands attention; the buttons and triggers are on the screen where and when they are needed - not hidden away in obscure menus; and information is visually organised to be readable and intelligible.

The result is a piece of software that can take on competitors head on, by providing a simplified, intuitive and powerful user experience that empowers users to battle real problems instead of incident management software problems.