I agree with your argument, but actually think you and the software designer to whom you spoke are both right. It could be you both had semantic differences in what constitutes a "design problem". To some folks (many developers I know), a "design problem" includes: widgets in the wrong place, fonts that are too small, colors that don't contrast, distorted graphics. When you tell them a "design problem" that's worth fixing is: the registration form has 17 steps too many, the site doesn't flow correctly, the WYSIWYG editor introduces conflicting tags into the page, which make the link colors inconsistent...those folks are likely to say: "Ohhhh....THAT design problem! That's different." And then they're likely to say those should be accounted for in the requirements, up front.
That's a weird hypothetical, I know, but I think design can mean "purely aesthetics" or "fundamental thread through which every line of code is woven"...to different people at different times, depending on perspective, need, and decreasing bonus due to lengthening project timelines. - Bryan http://www.bryanminihan.com -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Russell Wilson Sent: Monday, December 03, 2007 12:30 PM To: IxDA Subject: [IxDA Discuss] Fixing bugs is not fixing design! Excerpted from a post on my blog: http://www.dexodesign.com/2007/11/fixing-bugs-is-not-equivalent-to-fixing.ht ml Would love feedback fromn IxDA'ers... [snip] At Dux2007 <http://www.dux2007.com/> in Chicago, I attended a workshop where I asked the group why we don't design software like we do hardware? Why don't we spend more time in prototypes, mockups, etc. One of the attendees, a software designer... said "because it's cheap to fix software problems - all you have to do is make a download available that resolves the bugs." That's what so many executives are really thinking, aren't they? Build it, test it, get it out the door, and then ship fixes as necessary. Time to market, fix later. And herein lies the mistake: fixing bugs is not equivalent to fixing design. True, bugs in software can be fixed easier and cheaper than bugs in hardware. But we're not talking about bugs--we're talking about DESIGN. You can't fix a design with a download! Design is the essence of the product, how the product interacts with users, the personality of the product, the metaphors, etc. Attempting to fix design in an update results in confusion, retraining, potential loss of trust, etc. The changes are too significant. Therefore redesign is often delayed until the next major release of the product, resulting in additional costs, potential loss of customer loyalty and the opportunity to "lock them in", etc. So, yes, software bugs can be remedied easier than bugs in hardware. But design problems in software are no easier or cheaper to resolve than hardware design flaws, and therefore we (software designers, creators, builders) must adopt better processes, principles, and expertise towards designing better software products from the start. ------------------------------------------------------ Russell Wilson Vice President, Product Design NetQoS, Inc. ________________________________________________________________ *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help ________________________________________________________________ *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
