People have a tendency to voice a preference for more and more choice, but when it comes to technology, they really often prefer less. The wildly popular iPad--a device that offers relatively few functions--demonstrates this paradox, writes Andrew McAfee in a post at HarvardBusinessReview. 

"Choice can be confusing, paralyzing, and worse than unsatisfying--it can be dissatisfying," McAfee writes. "Stripped-down tech products can be hugely popular, as Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) keeps demonstrating to us."

In a similar fashion, having to make too many decisions can be dissatisfying as well. A big fan of Enterprise 2.0 technologies, McAfee has often written about the value of tools that give workers greater freedom and autonomy to do their jobs as they best see fit. However, this doesn't mean that people also don't value technologies that restrict their freedom, he writes. Applications that put users in pre-defined roles and ensure standard business processes provide helpful consistency, which is particularly useful in large enterprises.

McAfee examines Internet "commitment contracts" to make the point that people actually like giving up some autonomy and using technologies that constrain their actions. These "contracts" spell out a commitment to meet some kind of personal goal, like losing weight or quitting smoking. They really only work when they are effectively enforced, however. A web-based service known as stickK, which offers an enforcement mechanism based on a financial penalty for breaking the commitment, has shown the success of tools that constrain behavior, he writes. 

"[I]t is easy, tempting, and wrong to make blanket statements about psychology and technology--about what we humans 'always' want our tools to do," McAfee concludes. "Innovations often occur when someone realizes that the standard story is too simplistic, and offers a technology that goes against the conventional wisdom."

For more:
- see Andrew McAfee's post at HarvardBusinessReview

Related Articles:
Tips for creating an environment of trust 
One on one with Andrew McAfee
The take away from Ozzie's "Dawn of a New Day" memo