[Sigia-l] What am I missing...

[Ziya Oz]

Paola Kathuria:

> Software is designed too

As a programmer for well over a decade, I'm aware of that. This notion of
"programming design" is an interesting area of discussion, but not for this
thread, focused on end users.

> negative generalisations about programmers

Programmers are paid to code. I think we all agree on that.

When they begin to design, without compensation, I see that as a problem.
When they are actually compensated for design, I also see that as a problem.
It's a problem for users (they are shortchanged), a problem for programmers
(they are asked to do something they are most often ill suited for), a
problem for designers (their domain is invaded by pretenders), a problem for
products (quality suffers) and ultimately a problem for businesses (they
never get the full benefit of what design can do for their bottom line).

So my comments are not pointed towards the few/rare programmers who try to
make the best of what otherwise would be even a worse situation without any
design/UX input whatsoever. My beef is with the all-too-common corporate
organization that favors technology/IT over effective design because either
they have no clue or they are too cheap to realize it (programmers are
already paid for so what the heck).

I'm being aggressive about this because for a number of generations now IT
has utterly dominated the process by which products get conceptualized,
designed, built and deployed. It's only with their failures now better
seen/examined with the spread of the intra/internets that people are
questioning this noxious, upside-down process.

IT is not the victim here, but the perpetrators of this most unfortunate
state of affairs. Not without the complicity of business owners/managers, of
course.

----
Ziya

Usability >  Simplify the Solution
Design >  Simplify the Problem