By Senior Editor – Kris Smith (@croncast)

Internet type Max Klein shared an great story on his posterous site yesterday called, “Treat the users of your software like dogs.”

What Klein addresses in his post is a little trick that he added to some software that he was asked to write by his employer at the time. Once the software was written and put into production the staff that it was written for chose not to use it.

So after some careful analysis Klein addressed this dilemma  with a reward feature in the software. When a person using the software made a sale the software rewarded them with a sound. It was affirmation that they had done a good job. The validation wouldn’t only be theirs but could also validate them in the eyes of their coworkers.

He doesn’t say whether the users where using headphones or let the sound play aloud but knowing sales types I’m sure the knob was cranked to 11.

What Klein was able to create with this feedback mechanism was not of real value to the software and it certainly didn’t detract from it. He was able to tie in a human element to the application that in a way created a high five between the user and machine. Everybody likes high fives – especially sales types.

There are a couple startup tips to be gained from this story.

1. If you are thinking about an interface redesign to gain or retain users, consider adding elements of audio or video.
2. Learn what makes your users tick
3. Bells and whistles work when used in moderation. Fido would agree as well.

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