1 on Jared's post. He's hit the nail on the head in my view. One thing to add to that. My current domain, computer networks, is facing significant pressure from product commoditisation in the low cost segments from Taiwanese vendors producing me-too products. My challenge is to differentiate our products on marketable 'ease of use'.
The difficulty of the task is compounded with the usual Marketing driven push to cram more high end features in to the devices destined for the low end of the market. Make it more complex, make it easier... more of everything is better! Nothing new there, however I make a counter argument for avoiding 'too easy' on all features as lowering the barrier to those without domain expertise will eventually result in support calls. Its a balancing act and a moving target. As networks become more pervasive, baseline domain expertise increases and the once 'do not touch on pain of death' features become easified. I do not see this as a phenomenon specific to my domain. Jared also talked about the reduction in domain complexity making craftspersons redundant... At the high end of the market we have craftspeople with Cisco Certifications who command very healthy salaries. There is absolutely no pressure from that userbase to make the interfaces easier, it erodes their value-add among a number of other factors. However, this is where the beauty of the Market comes in to play, where there is cost.. there is opportunity to reduce it. I know of a couple of startups who are working on intelligent platforms that will actively manage networks. Leading to a deflation in the cisco certified job market. Point being, a lack of development in ease of use in a specific interface, be that networks or Photoshop, will not hinder market forces which seek to erode the margins commanded by craftspersons. Typical bell curve - long tail stuff. YMMV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=28627 ________________________________________________________________ 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
