[Sigia-l] Does interface design matter?

[Lyle Kantrovich]

My point is that a service isn't a service until it has an interface
with a human.  (Okay, maybe you can have services for pets or
something, but I'm speaking in general terms.)

It's sort of like the old "if a tree falls in a forest" question...

In your driverless car, there is still some kind of UI...except you
moved the "driver" outside of the vehicle.

Sometimes we eliminate complexities or layers of UI, but there's
always a UI.  For example, a disk defragmenter has a UI.  If one
creates an OS or hard disk the eliminates the need for the
defragmenter, there is still a UI for interacting with the
fragment-less disk...

I'm not a wiz on SOA, but from my perspective, every "service"
(techie, SOA term usage now) still has some kind of human interface
for some kind of use.  It might take the form of an API or a set of
documentation, or error messages, or exception reports, or something
else, but there's still a UI there somewhere.

Only a feature or function that a) takes no input and b) delivers no
output can be truly without an interface...and that would mean that it
delivers no value...it does nothing.

Lyle
----
Lyle Kantrovich
User Experience Director, Cargill
Cargill: http://www.cargill.com/
My Blog: Croc O' Lyle - http://crocolyle.blogspot.com/

On 10/13/05, Listera <listera at rcn.com> wrote:
> Lyle Kantrovich:
>
> > A feature or function doesn't exist without an interface.
>
> Depends on where one defines the boundaries of this argument. For example,
> there are companies being formed as we speak whose only business goal in
> life is to provide "(inter)faceless" services and functionalities to other
> companies, the basis of SOA.
>
> > How would you drive without a steering wheel or gas pedal (or something that
> > replicates their purpose)?
>
> By reframing the question: one of the passengers in a car is no longer the
> designated "driver," the car is driven by external means.
>
> ----
> Ziya