Utilitarian Design

Like most people who have a heartbeat these days, it's hard to go through your day without acknowledging the extreme polarization, misinformation and grinding conflict that pervades our third rock from the sun. 

It has me going back in time to the Utilitarianism of John Stuart Mill, who conceived "The Greatest Happiness Principle," which holds that we should pursue actions that produce the greatest amount of overall happiness in the world, not just maximize happiness for ourselves. It is the central tenet of Mill's utilitarian moral philosophy. And, it turns out, that there are some useful Utilitarian princples that can meaningfully inform design:

Multi-Functionality

Utilitarian designs should be multi-functional, allowing more than one useful purpose in a single design. This maximizes the overall usefulness and sustainability of the design.3

Simplicity and Minimalism

Utilitarian designs should be simple, without anything superfluous. Perfection comes from parts being well-adapted to their purpose, not from ornamentation. Minimalism is valued over excess.3

Impartial Consideration of All Affected Parties

When designing for the greatest good, the interests and happiness of all people affected by the design should be weighed equally and impartially, not just the designer's own interests or a subset of users.24

Judging by Actual Outcomes, Not Intentions

The morality and success of a utilitarian design is determined by its real-world effects and consequences, not just the designer's intentions or thought process behind it.2

But what are the core principles of Utilitarian philosophy that inform these design principles?

1. happiness is the only thing that has intrinsic value. Utilitarianism holds that the morality of an action is determined solely by its consequences and ability to maximize overall happiness and well-being.1

2. Actions are right insofar as they promote happiness, wrong insofar as they produce unhappiness. The rightness of an action is judged by how much it tends to promote the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people affected by it.134

3. Everyone's happiness counts equally. When considering the consequences of an action, the interests and happiness of all affected parties should be weighed impartially, not just the agent's own interests or a subset of people.13

4. The goal is to maximize overall utility, which Mill identifies with happiness. An action is right if it maximizes general utility, which consists of many and varied pleasures.4

5. Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism - the morality of an action is determined solely by its consequences, not by the motives behind it or the inherent nature of the action itself.

I share this because design and philosophy share more in common than you think. Now you might read this and ask "well how do you define 'happiness?'"

Milly would say "Happiness is not just the agent's own greatest happiness, but the greatest happiness for the aggregate of all people affected. The morality of an action is judged by how much it promotes the greatest happiness overall, not just for the individual."

Now can we make something that pays off that definition please? How about some Utilitarian OKRs? ;)