Involving the Users
Submitted by Frank Paynter on Mon, 05/10/2004 - 13:27.
According to Boing Boing
Blogger has relaunched today, with standards-compliant templates, comments with spamblocking, streamlined blog creation, and page-per-post -- the kind of things that we've come to expect from a modern blogging tool. The redesign was executed by the arch-geniuses of Stopdesign and Adaptive Path, and it shows. This is a beautiful redesign, both in terms of look-and-feel and approachability for novices.
This evaluation may be right on the money, but a serious paying user of the Blogger product had this to say yesterday:
Blogger folks, um, not for nothing, but don't surprise paying customers with a new UI late at night, call it a "dashboard" to be all cool-n-stuff, have no exciting new functionality, and pass it off like, "Goodie for you--we just did some cool stuff to blogger!"It's not cool. It's goofy. And it's slow. Let us have the option of using the old UI.
thank you.
sheesh--like we don't have enough problems.
Jeneane will roll with it and get used to the new look and feel, but the situation points to a watershed difference between web development and old fashioned bounded systems development. Namely, back in the day you didn't surprise your users with changes. You included them every step of the way.
London
When they gonna stop blow everything?
London
When they gonna stop blow everything?
London
Police have carried out a controlled explosion on a vehicle at the hospital treating a suspect in the attack on Scotland's busiest airport. Officers also made a fifth arrest in the airport attack and a foiled car bomb plot in London.
WTF
These comments are like rubbish
Sometimes
Sometimes I can't understand...
I've got it
I've got it!
Bullshit
Sorry but you are discussing bullshit
But other said
But other said that the judgement induces common sense, tertium non datur
But other said
But other said that the judgement induces common sense, tertium non datur
As one clever
As one clever person said the judgement transforms tragical hedonism.
Interesting
Interesting opinion. But IMHO it's just an opinion.
My experience
I have great experience in that. So I can understand...
You seem confused
You seem confused. Anything wrong?
To All
I think we have a lot of to think about guys...
No comments
Are you sure? You must be joking. I can't believe in that
I'm so sorry
I'm so sorry. Post that you have deleted was mine.
I love the way you write
I love the way you write. It's no wonder you have so many people reading your blog.
Re:
Don't pay any attention at these stupid people.
Surprise
In general I agree. It's unkind at best to surprise users with changes they didn't ask for and didn't know were coming. OTOH, you can't satisfy everyone, so by involving people up-front you risk creating friction and disappointment, especially in the open ended user community of the Internet.
Changes that don't involve users eliminate a lot of complexity. Scheduled downtime for example... a fully planned change requires an announcement of some kind to the users. An internally planned change can leave the unruly mob out of the equation.
I think an open planning process is better. Users should at least be informed, and ideally their feedback should be solicited, considered, and incorporated in upgrades when practical.
Surprise
I think you need to re-frame your argument to say that this is a watershed difference between BAD development and old fashioned. This is not a result of using the web as your user interface.
GOOD web development and development in general involves the users from step 1 to production. No surprises, everything agreed upon up front. It is easier to spring this on users with the web, but it is every bit as bad a practice to do so.