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Why Users Hate IT Products and Developers
bfwebster writes "The Washington Post has a commentary by one of its regular columnists, Marc Fisher, on why computer users hate what he terms 'our techie masters.' One of his more pungent and, I suspect, on-the-money comments: 'Computer training has become the living hell of the American workplace...each new system is more confounding than the last, and each new product strips away many of the advantages of the previous system.' Not a Luddite screed; more an angry outburst asking why commercial software systems are often so wretched. Worth reading and pondering."
Also, why in the hell are companies "upgrading" constantly? What ever happened to the days of buy something and use it. Hell, that's what I do for my tiny business. Every "upgrade" is expensive and time consuming. I'll just use what I have, thank you.
Perhaps when developing a new system the developers could take some time to study the methodologies that are used in the gaming market. After all Games are highly technical but must be very easy to learn and use to be popular.
If anything they might start thinking more about the end user then they do right now
Example - Sniffer. Great piece of software. Does everything you could want. But it's so confusing with random tabs all over the place, buttons that are similar but do different tasks in different parts of the program, and completely lacking in intuitive interface....
There is a good point there. Users don't always understand what they want, or can't think through the "unintended consequences" of a system change. They see the result, not the process.
But on the other hand, I know that us geeks have a tendency to read our own agenda into what we're asked to provide, and to ride hard on anyone who disagrees with our intepretation of "how it should be". We deliver a wonderful process, and if it has a good result, that's just icing on the cake.
I used to work with a group of professional architects, and I learned a lot from watching them take user input, question it, refine it, and try to turn it into a project. They spent a lot more time learning about the customer's personality, what sorts of things they liked and didn't like... and the ones who were consistently loved by customers were the ones who were the best listeners.
(A nickle to the first person to identify the person I quoted above!)
So 20 years ago I would have had to pay more for an airline ticket than today, to fly to Washington, to by a copy of the WP, to read whatever this bozo has to say. Now I can do it sitting at my desk at the arse-end of the world withing seconds of him hitting the "publish" button. No progress or convenience there that I can see.
-- Free software on every PC on every desk
Personally, I am an end-user and not a techie (right, so what am I doing here? don't ask!). Now, granted, I'm a tad more computer-savvy than the average end-user (having a disgustingly genius-like programmer for a husband helps), but even I fail to understand how tech staff can be so arrogant and condescending. Do the techs here think they can handle MY job? No? Then don't try to make me feel stupid for not being able to do THEIR job, which, in essence, is to help me use the technology I need to do my job.
Now I know that it's standard for techs to assume that the user is a moron, because, quite often, the user IS a moron. However, there are those of us who do have a slight clue what we're doing. So we can't understand root code, and we may not know what's wrong the first time our printer starts spewing out toner and blinking furiously, but that doesn't mean we're unintelligent or incapable of understanding.
I've never had training for any piece of software I've ever used, but I think I manage all right. I haven't had too many problems upgrading between different versions (I admit, it baffles me when the developer removes a certain feature for no apparent reason). All in all, even though I do basic checks before calling tech support to save them trouble, they tend to be even MORE annoyed when I seem to have a clue as to what I'm talking about. Seems they don't like knowledgeable users - it ruins their god-like image.
It's arrogant beyond belief to assume that all users are idiots. I know that's probably not what the parent post intended, but it's the end effect that counts. If you realize that your user isn't following quite as quickly as you're explaining, just slow down. Be patient. How would you have liked it if your grade two math teacher had just plowed through long division rather than explain it to you? Would you like it if someone pushed you away from your keyboard saying "Never mind, just let me do it"? The personal skills, with MOST tech support (not all, there are many good people out there), just aren't there. It's the truth. Deal with it.
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