Not sure if anyone else has run into this but a culture of exhaustive specifications for me is usually the result of a very unhealthy relationship between product management, design, and engineering. I've seen PM's try to out-document each other in order to impress management, as well as engineering resources demand more and more granularity to design specifications as a way to buy time. In the end, Design ends up dealing with a 120 page document that no one really ends up reading, other than as a CYA action. Documentation as a weapon, I kid you not.
The solution? First, hire people that use technology, that love technology. You don't know how many times I've asked someone in an interview what websites, apps or designs inspire them and I get a blank stare in return (or even better, the "I really don't mess with technology outside of work" response!). Many design efforts could be streamlined if there was common awareness of ubiquitous solutions. Second, hire folks that can think visually. I've learned that a picture is NOT worth a thousand words. If a picture was worth a thousand words, why do I always have to pair visuals with thousands of words for anyone to understand the design? No amount of spec writing can compensate for staffing an abundance of non-visual engineers and product managers (or God forbid, non-visual designers). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46833 ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
