[Sigia-l] Open Source Usability -- curable?

[Listera]

Bill Bell:

> Many OS projects are more like exploration or experimentation. Which is to say
> that one or two people have been inspired to try something, and they want to
> see how far they can push it.

I'm generalizing here, but there are ways of exploring without having to
code. In the OS X environment, for example, Interface Builder for apps or
WO/DirectToWeb for websites allow one to start with the UI first,
demonstrate application flow and test the UI functionality with no/minimal
code. These IDEs encourage developers to put the UI first, which can't hurt.
It's difficult to do that if your starting point is a text editor and the
immediacy of the code. So there's a bit of a philosophical difference here
in building apps. Just having the right IDE won't make a programmer a
UCD-sensitive developer, but it'd at least put him in the appropriate frame
of mind.

Ziya
Nullius in Verba