Comments on: Users Lie http://ntschutta.com/jat/2005/12/31/users-lie/ Just A Thought...on Ajax, usability, software development and anything else that catches my fancy. Fri, 05 Dec 2008 12:04:50 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 By: Nate http://ntschutta.com/jat/2005/12/31/users-lie/#comment-82 Nate Tue, 17 Jan 2006 01:02:15 +0000 http://ntschutta.com/jat/2005/12/31/users-lie/#comment-82 Thanks guys, I really appreciate the comments (sorry I didn't respond sooner - been a bit busy...) John, I've encountered EXACTLY what you're talking about - well, we want this. Why? 'Cause that's what the old system did. It's just amazing to me that people don't grasp that rewrites allow you to reengineer the business process, a process that is all too often tailored around deficiencies in the systems! In fact, the last "real" project I was on at my former employer was no more than a direct port to the web - we couldn't even modify the database to be, oh, I don't know, relational! Jeff, great point about release 2.0. Too often I've seen projects derailed because users HAD to have all these features *right now!* Like waiting a couple of months would be the end of the world... Man, no updates in 2 years, what's the point? Especially if there have been numerous complaints. Ahh, you wouldn't want to listen to users on something like that - heck, they should just learn to do it right. Well, you two have inspired to write another post - hopefully soon! Thanks guys, I really appreciate the comments (sorry I didn’t respond sooner - been a bit busy…) John, I’ve encountered EXACTLY what you’re talking about - well, we want this. Why? ‘Cause that’s what the old system did. It’s just amazing to me that people don’t grasp that rewrites allow you to reengineer the business process, a process that is all too often tailored around deficiencies in the systems! In fact, the last “real” project I was on at my former employer was no more than a direct port to the web - we couldn’t even modify the database to be, oh, I don’t know, relational!

Jeff, great point about release 2.0. Too often I’ve seen projects derailed because users HAD to have all these features *right now!* Like waiting a couple of months would be the end of the world… Man, no updates in 2 years, what’s the point? Especially if there have been numerous complaints. Ahh, you wouldn’t want to listen to users on something like that - heck, they should just learn to do it right.

Well, you two have inspired to write another post - hopefully soon!

]]> By: jsteil http://ntschutta.com/jat/2005/12/31/users-lie/#comment-80 jsteil Wed, 04 Jan 2006 14:25:17 +0000 http://ntschutta.com/jat/2005/12/31/users-lie/#comment-80 Another thing I don't get is why projects don't automatically plan for a second release after the initial goes in? Not that we should plan for things to be wrong, but it is inevitable that once a system goes live and the users start using it for real they'll want to change some things to make their job easier. I have seen too many times recently where we dump a system into production and it just sits there without any enhancements after that. We have an end-customer app that went to production 2 years that hasn't had a single update applied to it since even though our webmaster receives between 10-15 complaints about it per week. If you attempt using it over dial-up, you might as well not even try. Get an error in the middle of a multi-step process? Too bad, you have to start over. We've tried to get momentum behind enhancing the app, but the standard reply we get is that there isn't any money in the budget to do it. Another thing I don’t get is why projects don’t automatically plan for a second release after the initial goes in? Not that we should plan for things to be wrong, but it is inevitable that once a system goes live and the users start using it for real they’ll want to change some things to make their job easier. I have seen too many times recently where we dump a system into production and it just sits there without any enhancements after that.

We have an end-customer app that went to production 2 years that hasn’t had a single update applied to it since even though our webmaster receives between 10-15 complaints about it per week. If you attempt using it over dial-up, you might as well not even try. Get an error in the middle of a multi-step process? Too bad, you have to start over. We’ve tried to get momentum behind enhancing the app, but the standard reply we get is that there isn’t any money in the budget to do it.

]]> By: Gear Daddie http://ntschutta.com/jat/2005/12/31/users-lie/#comment-79 Gear Daddie Sun, 01 Jan 2006 04:12:03 +0000 http://ntschutta.com/jat/2005/12/31/users-lie/#comment-79 Excellent Post! Sometimes users like other times they are too grounded in their day-to-day work that they don't have any idea what _can_ be done. I've recently worked on a system that was a web app port of a "green screen" application. Developers (note - there were no real designers as is very typical) did exactly what the users said they wanted and guess what the got: A complete copy of their green screen app with prettier fonts. What a waste... Excellent Post! Sometimes users like other times they are too grounded in their day-to-day work that they don’t have any idea what _can_ be done. I’ve recently worked on a system that was a web app port of a “green screen” application. Developers (note - there were no real designers as is very typical) did exactly what the users said they wanted and guess what the got: A complete copy of their green screen app with prettier fonts. What a waste…

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