Universal Principles of Design, Revised and Updated

Cost-Benefit

An activity will be pursued only if its benefits are equal to or greater than the costs.

From a design perspective, the cost-benefit principle is typically used to assess the financial return associated with new features and elements. The cost-benefit principle can also be applied to determine design quality from a user perspective. If the costs associated with interacting with a design outweigh the benefits, the design is poor. If the benefits outweigh the costs, the design is good. For example, walking some distance to see a museum exhibit constitutes a cost. The level of interest in the exhibit constitutes a benefit. Thus, if the level of interest outweighs the cost of the walk, the exhibit design is good.

The quality of every ...