In the mid 1950’s, a lead designer of the U-2 and Blackbird spy planes named Kelly Johnson coined the Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS) principle. He exemplified “KISS “by challenging his team to design planes that average mechanics could repair, under combat conditions, with the same tools they used in design. His goal was to avoid creating an overcomplicated, unusable product by applying a principle that brought a simple solution to a basic need.
Today, the top rated social sites are successful because of this principle. For example, LinkedIn’s networking site was designed with the realization that at some point, people will need a simple solution to develop business connections. Pinterest’s picture sharing site ascended to $200 million in value because they knew at some point, people will need a simple solution to gather creative ideas. Obviously, these “needs” are not as serious as the spy plane mechanic’s but here’s one that could be …“At some point, people will need to find a doctor.”
The need to find a doctor brings the most traffic to a Health Plan’s web site. So, just like that spy plane mechanic, consumers must have access to a simple solution that meets their need. As opposed to the lemming’s approach of building out separate member tools in various areas, The KISS principle would call for plans to bring all consumer tools into the highest traffic area (provider search), for one simple solution. Engagement doesn’t happen by building a “Facebook for healthcare”. It happens when you bring a simple solution to a basic need. Otherwise, you’ll end up creating an overcomplicated, unusable product and might as well kiss your consumers goodbye.
