Slashdot Mirror
Norman & Spolsky - Simplicity is Out
guanxi writes ""As simple as possible, and no simpler", you might have heard a few time, or KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). No more! The new hot trend is complexity: '[I]f you think simplicity means ... "does one thing and does it well," then I applaud your integrity but you can't go that far' says Joel Spolsky. 'Why are Yahoo! and MSN such complex-looking places? Because their systems are easier to use [than Google]' explains Donald Norman, who also also tells us that Simplicity Is Highly Overrated. Are they trying to make a subtler point, are they just consultants making a splash, or complexity the Next Big Thing in design?" From the 'highly overrated' article: "After touring the store my two friendly guides and I stopped outside to where two new automobiles were on display: two brand new Korean SUVs. Complexity again. I'm old enough to remember when a steering wheel was just a steering wheel, the rear view mirror just a mirror. These steering wheels were also complex control structures with multiple buttons and controls including two sets of loudness controls, one for music and one for the telephone (and I'm not even mentioning the multiple stalks on the steering column). The rear view mirror had two controls, one to illuminate the compass the other simply labeled "mirror," which lit a small red light when depressed. A rear view mirror with an on-off switch? The salesperson didn't know what it did either."
Time for the classic battle to resume. ;-)
Clearly simplicity is out and ocmplexity is in. That explains perfectly why nobody uses google, and it certainly hasn't become so common place that it has been "verbed" in the english language. I bow before the amazing intellect of these people. /sarcasm
although to be fair there is something very "truthy" about what the are saying...
The folks who make those inspiring posters put it best:
If you're not a part of the solution, there's good money to be made prolonging the problem
Complex>Simple
Yahoo>Google
Zune>iPod
The referenced articles>This post
Shameless plug for my photos on Flickr
I don't see a problem. Just take a German class.
Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
So everyone wants complex things that they have no idea what it does? That makes a lot of sense. Sounds more like companies are just shoving things into stuff in the hopes people will say "I don't know what all they do but it has more buttons than that other one" and then buy it.
Or, in other words, "This one goes to 11!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
Well, I want a device with a single button that knows what I want to do when I prress it every single time.
Get a shotgun.
Obama likes poor people so much, he wants to make more of them.
My parents would pay double for a TV remote with half as many buttons.
Bring me your parent's remote control, the amount they paid for it, and a saw.
Get your own free personal location tracker
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
"Rather a nice little product, the UI is just annoying rather that absoulutely terribly like an LG."
Um, there are some serious UI issues with this sentence. Could you please redesign it? Thank you.
Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
Why are Yahoo! and MSN such complex-looking places? Because their systems are easier to use [than Google]
That explains why I always use google...
what was I thinking....
"We are all geniuses when we dream"
- E.M. Cioran
I love that the GP couldn't actually defend himself. Instead, it took some other moron with mod points.
Not that I mind: The whole thing made my point for me.