User Experience

I notice many job postings for user experience (UX) developers. Based upon my experience using software and computers for almost four decades, I'd say people in this field still have much to learn — despite the fact that a significant amount of interface design was settled years ago.

People in this field continually change interfaces and dialogs much for the same reason dogs and cats lick themselves — because they can. They can’t help themselves. These days software development is mostly a personal playground.

The common result is broken and buggy software. Frustrated users.

Much like grocery store managers who continually move items in the store.

Possibly UX developers and grocery store managers have nothing to do and need a reason to justify their job titles.

One reason I'm attracted to Linux based systems is the command line. Command line tools work much the same today as they did two decades ago. New options and parameters might be added, but the interface and syntax are the same.

The solution is simple: stop changing stable software. Stop trying to reinvent the wheel to justify the job title. Rapid release, continuous delivery, continuous integration, software as a service (SaaS) are part of the problem rather than a solution.

Most people want to use their computers, not fix broken software because developers are bored and think they know the next great thing.

Not broke? Don’t fix. Stop licking yourself.

Posted: Category: Usability Tagged: General

Next: Updating Firefox ESR — 2

Previous: Updating Firefox ESR — 1