Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

Re: Anti-Microsoft sentiment

Author:Todd Blanchard
Posted:9/18/2000; 3:01:28 PM
Topic:Debunking the OSS Bazaar?
Msg #:21479 (In response to 21452)
Prev/Next:21478 / 21480

I am sure if you have some objective data about what features people want in a product, the Microsoft product groups would be very happy to use your feedback

This is actually whats wrong with the MS product development process. All the feature requests make it into the product until the product uses too many resources and is too hard to use. In this case more is clearly not more and there is actually quite a lot of scientific evidence collected by the human factors community to back this up.

Unfortuneately, the MS solution to extreme complexity in UI is to make it "adaptive" by shifting menu items and controls around based on frequency of use. The human factors community has reviled this approach as well since its been demonstrated that users develop mental models of UI structure and remember spatial relationships. Moving things on them breaks their mental models and results in increased frustration for the user. Anybody who has read any books on human factors design knows this. I've heard that MS does human factors testing, but I don't believe it makes it into the products.

we usually try to validate our perceptions in some scientific manner; I trust that you have done the same

Naturally: Polite user interfaces paper
Toolbar cargo cultism
The moving UI bits is based on research done by the United States Parachute Association and is based on the large number of fatalities which occurred as a result of people borrowing parachute rigs that they were unfamiliar with in the 1980's (before the handle positions were standardized in the early 1990's). There's quite a lot more research out there on this stuff. I'd be interested in studies to the contrary you can point to.

Nobody said you were stupid, and it's really hard to discuss anything with someone who is so sensitive about being considered stupid.

MS word has the arrogant habit of changing my text (generally incorrectly) and butting in while I'm working on things ("It looks like you're writing a letter...." actually, no I'm not). It takes a great deal of fusssing around in the UI to find the place to turn off all of this intrusive behavior and then the settings don't seem to stick for very long. If I want help (like a spell check), I'll ask for it. "Stop interrupting me, you're not helping." Thats what I want to say to your software designers.

The last decent version of MS Word was v4.0 for the Macintosh. Its been downhill ever since.

I don't think the file format changes to increase revenue is subjective in the least. MS does it, its obvious. Its all about forcing upgrades to keep revenues up.

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