Why Software Sucks, And Can Something Be Done About It?

CPNABEND tipped us to a story carried on the Fox News site, pointing out that a lot of programmers don't understand their users. David Platt, author of the new book 'Why Software Sucks ... And What You Can Do About It', looks at the end user experience with end user eyes. While technically inclined individuals tend to want control, Platt argues, most people just want something that works. On the other hand, the article also cites David Thomas, executive director of the Software & Information Industry Association. His opinion: Users don't know what they want. From the article: "'You don't want your customers to design your product,' he said. 'They're really bad at it.' As more and more software becomes Internet-based, he said, companies can more easily monitor their users' experiences and improve their programs with frequent updates. They have a financial incentive to do so, since more consumer traffic results in higher subscription or advertising revenues." Where does your opinion lay? Should software 'just work', or are users too lazy?

Comments

GM has finally learned tha Japanese business model

[BigBlockMopar]

Its a new profit model. Make things that suck and get big money in service contracts. General Motors is kicking this business plan into high gear more than ever. Odd placement of fuel tank,

Not a regular service item, and as long as it's protected from collisions, it can go anywhere convenient. In the Pontiac Fiero, it was between the driver and passenger seat - safest place in the car; if a collision ruptures the tank, you'd have been dead anyway.

Now consider a Toyota Previa minivan. Where's the fuel tank? Hell, where's the motor? What's this, I have to take out the seats to check the oil?

limited visibility through windows,

Acura Integra. Last time I drove one, backing the damned thing out of the driveway was nearly impossible.

clumsy controls,

Like putting the headlight switch on the turn signal arm, so that you can add complexity to the switch and add relays to add cost and increase points of failure. Rather than simply installing a larger switch on the dashboard where anyone who isn't a moron would expect it to be. I was so happy when a car rental company didn't have the Neon I'd reserved and gave me a Nissan instead and had to figure out where the damned headlight switch was.

Oh yeah, and what's up with having to hold up the door handle to lock the door? If it's somehow designed to remind you not to lock your keys in your car, I don't understand how it would. Besides, I'm smart enough to have gotten into a very simple habit: never close a car door unless you're holding your keys. Been driving for 16 years - last locked myself out of my car 15 years ago.

interior makes noises and rattles,

ALL cheap cars do that. Funny thing is that my friend's 2001 Civic is somehow louder and more creaky than my 1980 Chevette ever was.

Now, go compare a Cadillac and a Lexus, both with about the same mileage since body rattles are a function of age, and tell me which one squeaks more and is noisier. I guarantee the Cadillac will have less wind noise: you see, it's actually got window frames which help seal the doors better, and have been used in the vast majority of luxury cars and sedans since the dawn of the horseless carriage, and is apparently a concept Lexus apparently doesn't get.

suspension hardware wears out quickly,

If you abuse it. Usually, balljoints, top plates and tie rod ends last the life of the car. And in general, GM and Ford's balljoints are bolted in, Chrysler's are screwed in. I don't, as a rule, like European cars because they tend to be more complicated than necessary (shift linkage in a 1995 Jetta, for example), but they tend to bolt in their balljoints, too. With Japanese stuff, they're more often pressed in, requiring an expensive specialty tool to change them. We can, of course, safely ignore Korean cars, because they're merely Japanese cars assembled without even the remotest semblance of common sense or mechanical aptitude.

repeated electronics failures and proprietary documentation,

Repeated? Any electronics can and will eventually fail, but repeated? Doubtful.

Proprietary documentation? Of course. Same with Japscrap and Eurotrash. That's like saying "GM cars suck because they only have four wheels!".

missing keyholes for locks where there should be,

In 1987, Toyota shipped over 10,000 Tercels which were missing the front passenger side speaker.

hard to replace maintenance items such as the battery underneath several layers of cruft,

Changed the serpentine belt in a 2002 Acura Integra lately? Seen where its front oxygen sensor is?

and the list goes on. Make your design require service!

You're clearly a moron who probably doesn't even own a decent socket set, let alone know anything about automotive mechanics. The Japanese were into impossible-to-fix designs long before Detroit or Europe.

Re:Users don't make buying decisions

[Izhido]

> org.slashdot.post.SignatureNotFoundException: ewg

Man, you're still using Java? That's so 2002... Learn to live with the times, for chrissakes... overcomplicating things...

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System.IO.FileNotFoundException: The signature 'Izhido.sig, Version=1.1.2688.15521, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=d76e4c572934e089' was not found.