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

[Adrian Howard]

On 3 Nov 2006, at 00:54, Alexander Johannesen wrote:
[snip]
> Luckily, I know the truth is that it depends on the developer and it
> depends on the UX person, and, even more luckily, I've worked with
> both developers who create better interfaces than UX designers and
> vice-versa. In other words, it's lucky that the real world looks
> nothing like the stereotypical hyperbole we some times spew out on
> this mailing list.
[snip]

Amen.

The very best projects I've worked on have all been where "designers"  
and "programmers" have worked together as equals with a joint goal of  
making the best damn product they can. Everybody brings all their  
skills and knowledge to the table.

Of course I've seen projects fail when some developers ignore design  
advice, or don't have anybody around with the appropriate skills.  
I've seen just as many projects fail due to arrogant design/usability/ 
whatever folk ignoring or overriding the practical concerns raised by  
developers, or by not deigning to spend the time communicating their  
design concepts properly so that they their intent can be expressed  
properly in the code.

It's also been my experience that a lot of the problem with  
programmers "designing" is the process and organisation that they're  
placed in. When you have 5 layers of management and 3 layers of  
support between you and the client/end-user, and a process that only  
delivers software once every two years then it's hardly surprising  
that people develop software that doesn't meet business or user needs.

Cheers,

Adrian