What do you do if your decision making in mobile technology is influenced by biases?

1 Confirmation bias

Confirmation bias is the tendency to seek, interpret, and remember information that confirms your existing beliefs or preferences. For example, if you are developing a mobile app, you may focus on the positive feedback from your loyal users, and ignore the negative reviews from the potential customers. This can make you overestimate the value of your app, and miss out on opportunities to improve it. To avoid confirmation bias, you should actively seek out diverse and contradictory opinions, test your assumptions with data and experiments, and be open to changing your mind when new evidence emerges.

4 Availability heuristic

Availability heuristic is the tendency to judge the likelihood or importance of something based on how easily it comes to mind. For example, if you are assessing the security risks of your mobile app, you may be influenced by the recent news of a major cyberattack, and overestimate the probability of your app being hacked. This can make you allocate too much resources or attention to a low-priority issue, and neglect other aspects of your app's performance or functionality. To avoid availability heuristic, you should rely on objective and reliable data, rather than anecdotes or impressions, and use statistical tools or frameworks to estimate the probabilities and impacts of different scenarios.

5 Framing effect

Framing effect is the tendency to react differently to the same information, depending on how it is presented or worded. For example, if you are presenting your mobile app to a potential investor, you may get a different response if you emphasize the benefits of your app, rather than the costs of developing it. Similarly, if you are designing a user interface for your app, you may influence the user's behavior if you use positive or negative words, colors, or images. To avoid framing effect, you should be aware of the power of language and visuals, and use them to communicate clearly and honestly, rather than to manipulate or deceive. You should also test your messages and designs with different audiences and feedback mechanisms, and adjust them accordingly.

6 Hindsight bias

Hindsight bias is the tendency to believe that you knew or predicted something all along, after it has happened. For example, if you launch a successful mobile app, you may think that you had a clear vision and strategy from the start, and ignore the uncertainties and challenges that you faced along the way. This can make you overconfident and complacent, and prevent you from learning from your mistakes or improving your skills. To avoid hindsight bias, you should document and review your decision making process, acknowledge the role of luck and external factors, and seek constructive feedback and criticism.

Decision making in mobile technology is a complex and dynamic process, that requires critical thinking and creativity. By recognizing and overcoming your biases, you can improve your decisions and outcomes, and deliver better value to your users and stakeholders.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?