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August 07, 2007
Netflix and Software Design
Some interesting notes on Netflix specifically and software design in general at the Netflix Community Blog regarding the use of 1/2 star ratings:
here’s what I learned from months of testing this across the country: when we make the ½ star options possible, we get fewer ratings. Significantly fewer ratings. We have argued these results internally for some time, and our best guess is that the complexity of doubling the number of choices from 5 to 10 deters many people from rating, so they just give up. (“3 stars? No, 3 ½ stars.. no… 3 stars… no… oh forget it…”)
In other words, more options sometimes equals less usability. A lesson that is hard to grasp in software development, with the notable exception of Apple.
Also noteworthy is the remark that Netflix treats 3 stars as a neutral rating in their recommendations. Which means I should probably bump some of my movies up to 4.
tech | By maphet | 09:29 AM
Comments
Netflix has one of the smartest and most agile (the actual word, not the programming paradigm) teams around. Their site usability is remarkable, but it is somewhat dependent on an active community.
In the context on Netflix, users don't want to sit down and thoughtfully consider things, they want to do something and do it now. Many software teams would be smart to follow the "less is more" example they're setting here.
Posted by: Matthias at August 21, 2007 05:49 PM