Hmm… Is that really true? You can spend a ton of time on UI development and really miss the boat on that one. Microsoft is a great example of this. Now before you go attacking me saying that I’m some sort of Apple hippie freak, let me explain myself. Microsoft, in all of their glorious ways to show how innovative they are, have missed some UI points that make it really easy for people like me to take jabs at them, just as easy as it is for comedians to take jabs at President Bush every time he makes a grammatically error during a speech. Microsoft, just like Bush, both tend to make mistakes from time to time… and it’s okay since we see the folly in it and we can all laugh together!!! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!
Okay, now back to some bash-ing 😉 I’ve been reading a Microsoft hosted blog, as per recommendation from my co-worker John, and I find it funny, informative and sometimes interesting… but on this one blog entry, I have to disagree. Microsoft is not known for the UI ease of use and sometimes they really don’t get it. Sometimes their UI design, which I believe they spend a ton of money on, is really hard to follow. I’m sure the developers are really proud of what they have done, but if your users are having a hard time finding something, just don’t dismiss it as the user’s fault-for-being-dropped-on-their-head-as-an-infant excuse. Take a step back, take a breath and see if there is something that can be improved…
I know there are times that I have come across something in the Windows interface that was so backwards that I had to read the help in order to understand what I have missed. I have accepted the fact that the Windows UI is hard to use. I’ve accepted the fact that people have accepted the fact that only half as good is the norm for most computing systems and I’ve even accepted the fact that there are a lot of die-hard Microsoft fans who will defend their beloved Redmond company one blog at a time, but I won’t accept the fact that they think users are too dumb to see some text that is hidden from view, in a dialog box that is stuck somewhere off of the viewing pane… If you have actually read this entry to this point… then you are a really good reader and I thank you. Let me know what you think about this Microsoft blog entry.
The user had no trouble finding the information. (The user quite cheerfully acknowledged seeing the message when prompted.) They simple refused to pay any attention it.
I know 🙂 The last part of the blog entry was me venting my frustration of developers who think their UI implementation is great even though it is horribly wrong.
For anyone who hasn’t read the Microsoft blog yet, go there and read it: http://blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing/archive/2008/01/01/6909020.aspx
The great thing the blog entry are all the comments that follow it! There were a lot of good responses to it, such as the one that points out that […]”if you have to put a sign out, you’ve already failed”, or the one that speaks of the father who didn’t see the cup that was right in front of him.
Enjoy!