Comments on: What Happens when Engineers don’t Rule http://reliable.esymmetrix.com/development/what-happens-when-engineers-dont-rule People, Processes, Hardware and Software that deliver results every time, every where. Wed, 19 May 2010 21:01:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Bruce http://reliable.esymmetrix.com/development/what-happens-when-engineers-dont-rule/comment-page-1#comment-1049 Bruce Wed, 19 May 2010 21:01:35 +0000 http://reliable.esymmetrix.com/?p=171#comment-1049 GREAT post Kendall.Found myself nodding and smiling throughout. Whether we like it or not, people's expectations are being raised constantly by the plethora of online destinations and tools that offer sleek, intuitive and (dare I say it) sexy experiences. And what people see in that "personal" realm colors their expectations of what they see and use in the professional realm. As designers and engineers we don't have to LIKE that -- but we DO have to accept it and design our solutions accordingly. When the user experience sucks, people walk. Apps don't get used, products don't sell, cost savings are not realized, redundancies and process bottlenecks remain. I've been saying for a very long time that designers need to think more like engineers and engineers need to think more like designers. We NEED each other, need to collaborate and learn from each other to meet this exponential growth of expectation when it comes to web apps. Again, well done. Keep it coming! GREAT post Kendall.Found myself nodding and smiling throughout. Whether we like it or not, people’s expectations are being raised constantly by the plethora of online destinations and tools that offer sleek, intuitive and (dare I say it) sexy experiences. And what people see in that “personal” realm colors their expectations of what they see and use in the professional realm. As designers and engineers we don’t have to LIKE that — but we DO have to accept it and design our solutions accordingly.

When the user experience sucks, people walk. Apps don’t get used, products don’t sell, cost savings are not realized, redundancies and process bottlenecks remain. I’ve been saying for a very long time that designers need to think more like engineers and engineers need to think more like designers. We NEED each other, need to collaborate and learn from each other to meet this exponential growth of expectation when it comes to web apps.

Again, well done. Keep it coming!

]]> By: Kendall Miller http://reliable.esymmetrix.com/development/what-happens-when-engineers-dont-rule/comment-page-1#comment-1007 Kendall Miller Thu, 07 May 2009 02:48:19 +0000 http://reliable.esymmetrix.com/?p=171#comment-1007 It's unfortunate, but many companies resort to improving user experience only when all else fails, not as part of the initial design process. I seriously doubt that the Comcast or Verizon DVR functionality would be remotely as good as it is if it wasn't for TiVo. We just converted to FIOS, and my wife is not happy about losing her TiVo's. She'd rather have no HD video and TiVo than the Verizon DVR. I haven't told her that it appears light years better than the Comcast version I saw two years ago... In this case, it's a good example of the quality of the user experience (cable DVR vs. TiVo) trumping the quality of the presentation (SD vs. HD). It’s unfortunate, but many companies resort to improving user experience only when all else fails, not as part of the initial design process. I seriously doubt that the Comcast or Verizon DVR functionality would be remotely as good as it is if it wasn’t for TiVo. We just converted to FIOS, and my wife is not happy about losing her TiVo’s. She’d rather have no HD video and TiVo than the Verizon DVR. I haven’t told her that it appears light years better than the Comcast version I saw two years ago…

In this case, it’s a good example of the quality of the user experience (cable DVR vs. TiVo) trumping the quality of the presentation (SD vs. HD).

]]> By: Dmitry Cherches http://reliable.esymmetrix.com/development/what-happens-when-engineers-dont-rule/comment-page-1#comment-1006 Dmitry Cherches Wed, 06 May 2009 21:28:35 +0000 http://reliable.esymmetrix.com/?p=171#comment-1006 Great post Kendall! I always have to remind developers about the need to think simple. We often joke that there is a Microsoft way of releasing a new product/software and there is an Apple way (keep the functionality to a minimum). That's when UXD comes in play as they will quickly remind engineers how important is to know your audience and how much patience do they have for your product. Majority of mainstream home users don't have a patience to figure out what was your brain thinking when you were developing the interface or a gadget. They want you to figure out how their brain works when utilizing your system. P.S. That being said - engineers of Verizon's TV remotes have no clue how human hand operates. I love FIOS, but looks like they did not want me to enjoy watching the TV, but rather wanted me to exercise my fingers by going top right, then left bottom and back and force again to do a simple operation. Great post Kendall! I always have to remind developers about the need to think simple. We often joke that there is a Microsoft way of releasing a new product/software and there is an Apple way (keep the functionality to a minimum). That’s when UXD comes in play as they will quickly remind engineers how important is to know your audience and how much patience do they have for your product. Majority of mainstream home users don’t have a patience to figure out what was your brain thinking when you were developing the interface or a gadget. They want you to figure out how their brain works when utilizing your system.

P.S. That being said – engineers of Verizon’s TV remotes have no clue how human hand operates. I love FIOS, but looks like they did not want me to enjoy watching the TV, but rather wanted me to exercise my fingers by going top right, then left bottom and back and force again to do a simple operation.

]]> By: Joe Natoli http://reliable.esymmetrix.com/development/what-happens-when-engineers-dont-rule/comment-page-1#comment-1001 Joe Natoli Wed, 06 May 2009 14:47:41 +0000 http://reliable.esymmetrix.com/?p=171#comment-1001 GREAT post Kendall.Found myself nodding and smiling throughout. Whether we like it or not, people's expectations are being raised constantly by the plethora of online destinations and tools that offer sleek, intuitive and (dare I say it) sexy experiences. And what people see in that "personal" realm colors their expectations of what they see and use in the professional realm. As designers and engineers we don't have to LIKE that -- but we DO have to accept it and design our solutions accordingly. When the user experience sucks, people walk. Apps don't get used, products don't sell, cost savings are not realized, redundancies and process bottlenecks remain. I've been saying for a very long time that designers need to think more like engineers and engineers need to think more like designers. We NEED each other, need to collaborate and learn from each other to meet this exponential growth of expectation when it comes to web apps. Again, well done. Keep it coming! GREAT post Kendall.Found myself nodding and smiling throughout. Whether we like it or not, people’s expectations are being raised constantly by the plethora of online destinations and tools that offer sleek, intuitive and (dare I say it) sexy experiences. And what people see in that “personal” realm colors their expectations of what they see and use in the professional realm. As designers and engineers we don’t have to LIKE that — but we DO have to accept it and design our solutions accordingly.

When the user experience sucks, people walk. Apps don’t get used, products don’t sell, cost savings are not realized, redundancies and process bottlenecks remain. I’ve been saying for a very long time that designers need to think more like engineers and engineers need to think more like designers. We NEED each other, need to collaborate and learn from each other to meet this exponential growth of expectation when it comes to web apps.

Again, well done. Keep it coming!

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