Is software design a luxury?
In a team meeting recently, someone said “Isn’t it great that we have a software design team? Very few companies our size have that luxury!” The individual meant it as a positive compliment, but every time I hear someone say something like this, I’m reminded that while we are making great advances in software development, we still have a long way to go.
Definition of Luxury [Source: wordnetweb.princeton.edu]:
- something that is an indulgence rather than a necessity
- lavishness: the quality possessed by something that is excessively expensive
Software design is an indulgence and not a necessity? Software design is excessively expensive? If this is true then most certainly software architects, testers, and tech-docs are all luxuries as well. The only necessity is someone who can write code, and if you have more than one, a manager (maybe). The coder can just throw some standard widgets on a canvas, link them to database queries, test his code using some scenarios, and then write some simple guides using Google Docs. Done.
And as long as you just created some incredible innovation, you’ll be fine for a very short time until the competition catches on. Then you’re screwed.
Design happens, and it can happen well or it can happen poorly. It’s not whether you design the user interface of your product, it’s how you design it. We are past the days of users accepting horribly designed software products because they have been exposed to good design on the web and they expect more.
So are user interface designers necessary? Only if you want to create great products. Is user interface design expensive? Are programmers expensive? Is testing expensive? It’s called “cost of goods sold” (COGS).
User interface design is not a luxury… it’s a competitive advantage.
Is software design a luxury? http://bit.ly/teJ8o
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Is software design a luxury?: In a team meeting recently, someone said “Isn’t it great that we have.. http://awe.sm/259B
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Is software design a luxury? – Dexo Design http://bit.ly/1JXg9q
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by stevejbayer and Luxury Pages. Luxury Pages said: Is software design a luxury? – Dexo Design http://bit.ly/1JXg9q [...]
Is software design a luxury? http://bit.ly/1hKKz
Design.alltop.com
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Is Software Design a luxury? read Russell Wilson http://bit.ly/4bmBc
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[...] design, and aesthetics, prototyping, and usability testing. Originally posted here: Is code organisation a luxury? – Dexo Design Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: and-aesthetics, and-application, and-usability, design-and, [...]
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I like the Pixar-ites' perspectives on this:
"Quality is the best business plan" John Lasseter (Pixar, CCO)
"Pain is temporary. 'Suck' is forever." Jason Deamer (Pixar, Art Director)
From: http://twitter.com/rickwilliams/statuses/44001759...
Is software design a luxery? http://bit.ly/teJ8o (from dexodesign.com)
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[...] Original post: Is software design a luxury? – Dexo Design [...]
Amen. +1. It’s a luxury for me to get to do my job the way that I would like to do it, or be able to do it, because of people like this and this mentality.
I think what frustrates me the most is that people are beginning to heed the call for software/interface designers, but they don’t know what that means so they try to get a UI and Graphi Designer or a UI Engineer. I wrote something on that here: http://www.lindsaytabas.com/blog/?p=550 Would love to get your feedback!
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Is software design a luxury? http://is.gd/4e04G
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Lindsay – thanks for commenting. I read your article and wanted to comment on two things you said:
1) "Graphic designers make things look cool… you can hire them on freelance and save yourselves lots of money"
This is only a small part of the picture. Graphic designers do make things cool, but they are also make things easy to use through visual design. Visual hierarchy draws the eye to more important content and improves efficiency. Layout and visual alignment also help the brain organize information and reduce cognitive load. I could go on… don't sell graphic designers short.
2) "To employers and product managers out there – hire a UI/UX person to work with the users…"
You seem to propose (and I may be wrong) black-box or expert design, something that I personally have failed at numerous times. It was a hard lesson to learn. The best designs come from iterative meetings with input from cross-functional teams. I typically structure teams consisting of designers, developers, subject-matter-experts, and of course users. The designer's (or UX professional's) job is not to design in isolation, or generate every good idea, but rather to apply their skills, training, expertise, and talent to the creative input from everyone, and to synthesize that input into the best design possible.
Does that make sense?
Is software design a luxury? (via dexodesign.com) >> http://is.gd/4eVbC
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Reading: “Is software design a luxury?” (http://twitthis.com/k9t5n9)
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User interface design is not a luxury… it’s a competitive advantage. http://bit.ly/4bmBc #ux
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Is software design a luxury? http://bit.ly/4bmBc
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good stuff http://bit.ly/teJ8o (from dexodesign.com)
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I liked it. So much useful material. I read with great interest.
Is software design a luxury?: In a team meeting recently, someone said “Isn’t it great that we have .. http://awe.sm/2Bfo
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Is software design a luxury? – http://bit.ly/4pCYCW (via @russwilson)
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Hello from Russia!
Can I quote a post in your blog with the link to you?
Is software design a Luxury ? http://bit.ly/Y3ryg // Sad that some companies think so
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“UI design is not a luxury… it’s a competitive advantage.” http://j.mp/uidsgnlx
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[...] … http://www.dexodesign.com/2009/10/10/is-software-design-a-luxury/ [...]
[...] care about user experience. Whether it’s a culture of not paying attention to user needs or a perception of user experience design as a luxury, enterprise software vendors are often seen as not giving user experience the attention it [...]