tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10261187.post111332526999181128..comments2024-03-28T14:13:23.835-04:00Comments on By Neddie Jingo!: Browse Music GloballyNeddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17079885040758748553noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10261187.post-1113354254124935272005-04-12T21:04:00.000-04:002005-04-12T21:04:00.000-04:00bunny: Agree completely that all SW engineers are ...bunny: Agree completely that all SW engineers are not bad designers -- that's a bit of a slander that I like to put out to stimulate discussion. However, when they are also building the code, they have a huge incentive to force the UI to conform to the requirements of an existing product instead of rewriting their code to conform to humane design -- basically, to save themselves some work. I fight this battle every day.<BR/><BR/>The problem with the Smithsonian site (and I'm quite certain I'm right on this; I've seen it far too many times not to recognize it), is that some outside firm flim-flammed the Smithsonian people with a byzantine database solution that required that that Music Browse be implemented in the bizarre way that it was, and nobody in the Smithsonian organization had either the chops or (more likely) the power to do the basic user-advocacy that sites like that need. Add to that no money budgeted for testing and no time in the schedule to correct any usability problems, and you've got the same goddamned usability cluster-[event] that ruins so many decent products.<BR/><BR/><I>What? Too dogmatic?</I>Neddiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17079885040758748553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10261187.post-1113352563324822062005-04-12T20:36:00.000-04:002005-04-12T20:36:00.000-04:00Software engineers *can* be good UI designers, jus...Software engineers *can* be good UI designers, just not on projects where they are writing code. The only important skill they need (in addition to all of the skills they would normally need for doing both jobs) is the ability to not think about how the design will be implemented. UI designers should never ever think about how hard something will be to implement, or even if it's possible. Comprimises will sneak in later, but the goal should be coming up with the best deisgn. Besides, when you give them something impossible, the programmers will often come up with a way to do at least the major parts of your design anyway.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com