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Subject: Re: UKNM: Re: Amazon.com
From: Chris Heathcote
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2000 13:41:29 GMT


At 11:59 am +0000 on 21/2/00, Duncan Clubb wrote:

>I've long thought and
>argued that IT bods are long experienced in producing UI's for
>applications, but the biggest problem is the refusal of most people to
>consider web sites as applications rather than flat media.

I wouldn't say programmers are the best people to design interaction
- they're too concerned with keeping the code easy to write, and
don't understand why a Delete All Files button shouldn't be put next
to the Check Mail button[0].

The best book I've read about this subject is
"The Inmates Are Running the Asylum : Why High Tech Products Drive Us
Crazy and How To Restore The Sanity"
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0672316498/
which shows why both marketers and programmers generally haven't the
right attitude to practise interaction design (without significant
will and determination).

Think of every nasty video recorder that's been impenetrable to
program, think of every useful feature in Word, hidden beneath a
mound of beginner wizard lint and toolbars full of extraneous
features that most people will never use. Their UIs have been
designed by programmers, with any usability or true interaction
design grafted on afterwards.

Someone has to be the user advocate at all stages from concept design
through to production - and if they are also concerned with
programming the product or marketing the product, they have a
conflict of interest that is insurmountable.

c.

[0] For the record, I trained as a robotics engineer and still
program in Perl. I've had to unlearn so much programming attitude to
see exactly what users/customers need, and how to deliver that as
simply as possible.

______________________________________________________
Chris Heathcote <Head> New Media
http://www.head-newmedia.com/ tel: +44(0)1717377579
http://www.head-space.org/ fax: +44(0)1717377971
______________________________________________________


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Replies
  Re: UKNM: Re: Amazon.com, Stefan Magdalinski

Replies
  Re: UKNM: Re: Amazon.com, Duncan Clubb

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