RE: engineers design products ultimately useful only to other engineers

That snip is so true. I think the power in software development is to put
defaults in place for usage simplicity, but allow detailed configuration in
the event it is needed (thinking of Outlook here, which has gotten better
through the years).

Even though I have my gripes with Outlook (very slow considering the size of
my box) it is the best email/calendar system out there (that I have used).

Aaron Bartell
http://mowyourlawn.com


-----Original Message-----
From: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Eric Lehti
Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2008 10:54 AM
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
Subject: engineers design products ultimately useful only to other engineers

The comments from Steve Richter and Trevor Perry regarding "outstanding
tools" for end users, designed by Microsoft programmers, are in line
with the thoughts published December 30, 2007 in this New York Times
news article. All of us technical programmers face challenges in
developing application systems that users are happy with.

Be sure to read this. Here is a snippet from the article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/business/30know.html


December 30, 2007
Bright Ideas
Article title: Innovative Minds Don't Think Alike
By JANET RAE-DUPREE

<snip>
That's a common reaction when experts set out to share their ideas in
the business world, too, says Chip Heath, who with his brother, Dan, was
a co-author of the 2007 book "Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and
Others Die." It's why engineers design products ultimately useful only
to other engineers. It's why managers have trouble convincing the rank
and file to adopt new processes. And it's why the advertising world
struggles to convey commercial messages to consumers.
"I HAVE a DVD remote control with 52 buttons on it, and every one of
them is there because some engineer along the line knew how to use that
button and believed I would want to use it, too," Mr. Heath says.
"People who design products are experts cursed by their knowledge, and
they can't imagine what it's like to be as ignorant as the rest of us."
</snip)