> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://engineering.umh.app/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://engineering.umh.app/product/product-standards/opinionated-simplicity.md). # Opinionated simplicity We make the decisions, so that our users can focus on their business. Owner: Jeremy We make the decisions, so that our users can focus on their business. After years of working on factory digitization, we know what works and where the problems are. ## Rules * There is exactly one way to do each task. The [Product Owner](/engineering/product-engineer/product-owner.md) of the user journey makes sure there is no second workflow for the same task. * There are no settings except personal preferences, such as the time format or the language. * Personal preferences come from the browser by default. The user can override them, for example when IT handed out a laptop in a different language. * What the user builds with UMH is not a setting. Examples are the connection to a machine with its address and credentials, the data mapping, or an application on top of UMH. ## Why we decide **We have done for years what most factories do for the first time.** The technologies to connect a factory have existed for 10 to 20 years. Still, most factories have not been able to digitize. Many of their projects fail in the pilot trap. The pilot works, but it never rolls out to the other lines or plants. Because digitization is not their core business, they often don't have the people for it. Even companies with an innovation center and a capable IT department usually do it for the first time. We know roughly what works and where the [thousand cuts](https://www.umh.app/insight/what-we-do-at-umh) are. So we build the product so that the user does not run into them. ## Settings and personal preferences **We choose the value of every product setting ourselves.** On Linear's blog, Adrien Griveau writes that there is "a difference between product settings that a product needs to get right by default and preferences that designers deliberately shouldn't have a strong opinion on" ([Settings are not a design failure](https://linear.app/now/settings-are-not-a-design-failure)). So in UMH, a product setting never appears to the user as an option. Joel Spolsky made the same point in [Choices](https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2000/04/12/choices/) in 2000. * "Every time you provide an option, you're asking the user to make a decision." * "This doesn't mean eliminate all choice." * A good option is one that "affects the visual look without affecting the way anything functions". --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the following URL with the `ask` and `goal` query parameters: ``` GET https://engineering.umh.app/product/product-standards/opinionated-simplicity.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is what the user is ultimately trying to achieve, the reason they need the answer. Sharing it helps GitBook give you a better, more relevant answer. A goal is most helpful when it describes the outcome the user wants rather than restating the question. For example, with `ask=how do I create an API token`, a goal like `automate deployments from our CI pipeline` lets GitBook tailor the answer to that use case. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.