Low floors and high ceilings in Coda
For starters and power users
Yesterday I attended a highly anticipated webinar featuring Coda’s CEO and co-founder, Shishir Mehrotra, alongside Coda CPO Lane Shackleton and Grammarly CPO Noam Lovinsky. While they briefly touched upon Coda’s 2024 progress, the primary focus was on the exciting future roadmap for 2025.
This blog post explores a central theme from the webinar: the “low floor, high ceiling” metaphor. This concept emphasizes the importance of creating a platform that is easy to adopt while offering limitless potential for growth and innovation. In essence, anyone should be able to start using Coda quickly, and once they do, the only limit is their imagination.
Grammarly users already understand the power of AI to enhance communication. The AI acts as a constant companion, refining and improving your writing as you go. Coda’s vision extends this further by integrating its powerful “brain logic” into the writing process. Imagine not only receiving real-time writing assistance but also gaining direct inspiration drawn from related content within your workspace or accessible via Coda packs.
However, the true power of this interconnected system is only unlocked when you have a solid foundation in Coda. This requires understanding its data architecture (workspaces, folders, docs, pages), mastering its formula language, and utilizing its automation capabilities (buttons and automations).
This is where Coda’s power users shine. These individuals are often the “makers” who architect workspaces and build the underlying systems. While power users revel in the flexibility of the Coda Formula Language, most users primarily want to consume information, collaborate within pre-defined structures (like tables presented as cards), or simply write content and benefit from AI-powered inspiration.
The challenge lies in ensuring that the sheer depth and versatility of Coda don’t overwhelm everyday users. We need to provide a sense of comfort and focus, allowing them to effortlessly execute their core tasks.
Did you ever visit the Pantheon in Rome? Its colossal dome, measuring 142 feet in height and diameter, is an engineering marvel. The oculus, the circular opening at the top, bathes the interior in a constantly shifting beam of light, creating a truly awe-inspiring experience. Upon entering, one feels a sense of wonder, even without knowing the specifics of its history or construction. It’s a similar feeling I get when entering the Sint Bavo’s Cathedral in my hometown of Ghent, Belgium. These structures were built to inspire awe and connect us to something larger than ourselves.
Coda, in its current state, can sometimes evoke a similar feeling of being overwhelmed. To prevent users from being discouraged by the “high ceiling,” we need to implement a design philosophy that hides the complexity for most users. The goal is to create a comfortable and intuitive experience that allows users to relax and enjoy the benefits of context-driven, AI-powered assistance, without needing to understand the intricate workings beneath the surface. The low floor is the key to adoption. Only once comfortable, people start looking up.
By embracing the “low floor, high ceiling” approach, Coda can empower everyone, from casual users to seasoned power users, to unlock the transformative potential of AI-driven collaboration.
So much to look forward to in 2025!
Hopefully, this post has shed some light on this common Coda challenge and empowered you to create more interactive and insightful data experiences. On a personal note, creating these in-depth posts takes a lot of time and effort. While I love sharing my knowledge, a little support goes a long way. If you found this helpful, what about a donation or sharing this post with your fellow Coda enthusiasts? Every bit of encouragement helps fuel the next blockbusters!
My name is Christiaan, and I regularly blog about Coda. While this article is free, my professional services (including consultations) are not, but I’m always happy to chat and explore potential solutions. You can find my free contributions in the Coda Community and on X. The Coda Community is a fantastic resource for free insights, especially when you share a sample doc.