80/20 RULE - A Critical Review

So you’re telling me that 20% of my work is providing 80% of my value?

It is commonly believed that 20% of our work provides 80% of our value. If this is true or at least somewhat accurate, one might wonder why we are not striving to transform 100% of our effort into 400% value. Although this may seem like a worthwhile goal, there are several factors that contribute to the remaining 80% of our time.

An argument against… 400%

1. Building relationships: Strong connections with our teams are crucial for producing high-quality projects. Trust and a shared vision are essential foundations for the impactful 20% of our work. Mentoring also plays a role in this process.

2. Learning and training: Both specific, purposeful training and serendipitous learning are important when needed. They contribute to our overall growth and ability to perform better in the future.

3. Documentation, bookkeeping, and organization: These tasks are necessary for keeping track of our work and maintaining a well-organized workflow.

4. Failing: Mistakes, dead ends, and unproductive efforts can take up a significant amount of time. While we should aim to minimize failure, it's impossible to be right all the time.

5. Time to think: Contemplation is essential for planning and maximizing future work. Reflecting on past experiences helps us improve and make better decisions.

6. Tech support and waiting: Issues with technology and time spent waiting are unavoidable parts of our daily lives.1

…But if I could just figure out how to get an additional 20% more and double my perceived value to get to 160% that would be fantastic. I could get noticed, maybe that would drive a raise, maybe I could get a speaking gig, maybe better projects, maybe more… (I know you were thinking it. I was too!)

“80% OF THE OVERALL DESIGN IMPACT ARE MADE FROM 20% OF MY DECISIONS.”

Let’s apply this to design.
While it may be unrealistic to achieve 400% value from our efforts, we can still strive to increase our overall value by focusing on the aspects of our work that have the most impact. In the context of design, consider the following tips:

1. Begin with planning and strategizing: Avoid diving straight into high-fidelity design work. Start with a review of the scope of work and have a conversation about the project. Whiteboarding and sketching can be effective ways to start.

2. Evaluate the design system as a whole: Focus on the overall theme and style guide, which will affect most pages without needing to review each one individually. Consider aspects such as colors, fonts, headers and footers, and buttons and links.

3. Maximize impact on individual design elements: When working on a specific page or part of a design system, consider the content layout, icon set, images, and aspects like touch, motion, story, sound, and social integration for maximum impact.

In summary, it's important to recognize that the 80/20 rule may not necessarily translate to 400% value, but we can still aim to maximize the value of our work by focusing on the most impactful aspects of design.

Also known as:
Pareto’s Principle, Juran’s Principle, and Vital Few and Trivial Many Rule.