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How Responsible Are App Developers For Decisions Their Users Make?
itwbennett writes: In a blog post, Rado Kotorov, Chief Innovation Officer at Information Builders asserts that the creators of enterprise apps implicitly assume some of the responsibility for other people's decision making. He says it's not just developers, but anyone who is involved, from defining the concept, to requirements gathering, to final implementation. Thus, the creators of the app have an ethical obligation to ensure that people can reach the right conclusions from the facts and the way they are presented in the app.
Jeesh. Why is this even a question?
Anyone who has ever done any reading on usability knows that we need to craft the interface to the user.
That usually means different interfaces for different cultures.
For example, Japan and Germany have general populations that are far more used to multi-choice, complex UIs than the US and UK. They tend to prefer their UX to be a bit more technical than other cultures.
Engineers tend to design for themselves; not for others.
Read The Design of Everyday Things. It's quite life-changing.
"In a blog post, Rado Kotorov, Chief Innovation Officer at Information Builders asserts that the creators of enterprise apps implicitly assume some of the responsibility for other people's decision making. He says it's not just developers, but anyone who is involved, from defining the concept, to requirements gathering, to final implementation. Thus, the creators of the app have an ethical obligation to ensure that people can reach the right conclusions from the facts and the way they are presented in the app."
I call bullshit. This is simply another step down a slippery slope that removes more personal responsibility.
This is the very definition of the nanny State.
No, but if Ford put a turn signal in a non-standard place or labeled the signal 'apparatus for signifying intention to create a curve' it would definitely confuse and possibly lead to accidents. Or if the factory tires weren't tested and fell off after 1 day, then your analogy would work.