Challenges to world class software design
August 8th, 2007 by Russell WilsonEvery job has its challenges. As a programmer, I spent long hours fixing bugs and finding workarounds. As an engineering executive, I dealt with resources, schedules, and politics. And as an entrepreneur, I struggled to find customers and generate revenue.
But designing software is tough. I’m not talking about the creative work – that’s our passion and we love it. I’m referring to the “tax” we pay for doing what we love.
So what makes up this tax? What challenges am I referring to?
1) Everyone thinks they are designers
Developers, product managers, sales, and even customers, can’t resist their own needs to create or invent by suggesting ways to change an interface or add capabilities – “let’s just add a drop-down to the top…”. Either in the form of “design on the spot” during a product meeting or customer visit, or a developer going ahead and “fixing the problem” without waiting for input from design, it happens often, and reflects perceptions and lack of understanding of the design role and expertise. It can also reflect poor adherence to process, or lack thereof, and a need for cross-department executive sponsorship and continued support. (I am not suggesting that no one can give input to the design process; many of our best designs are the result of collaborative efforts with product management and sales.)
2) Design is a nice to have
I’m always perplexed by this one, but many bottom-line executives still perceive good design as a nice to have. No, not at Apple or Intuit (I see more design-related job postings from Intuit than any other company – it makes me wonder if they just want to interview everyone they can, or if Intuit has a Wonka factory somewhere full of designers dressed like ump lumpas, all building accounting applications). Apple and others have helped to move this forward, but I still run into the skeptical eye from time to time. Another manifestation of this is when a new product or concept is attempted and the strategy is to “get something working, find some buyers, and then make it better.”
3) Who makes the final decision?
The Biltmore Estate is a remarkable architectural achievement, and is commonly considered the result of a single vision where the overall design was driven and conceived by one person. Frederick Brooks states that “conceptual integrity” is the single most important factor in the development of successful software applications. But often, with software design, there are many stakeholders, business and marketing agendas, and the need to create something as soon as possible. The nature of software design and development within high-tech companies doesn’t seem to lend itself to the purity or grandeur of a project like the Biltmore where the “genius” is given free reign to produce a work of art. It’s difficult to find the right balance between art and business in software design, and this is evident in the careful politicking among the design executive and various stakeholders to decide what gets built and what doesn’t.
4) The difficulty in justifying designs to critics
True, the best justification comes from users, and you can get that (to some degree) from usability testing — assuming you have the time and resources to conduct formative testing. But what about colors? What about visual treatments that are more subjective? What do you do when the product manager says “I hate that blue — why do we have to use that blue?” (I recently emailed a color wheel to a large group of employees at our company - that was a big mistake.) There are many cases where I wish I could just say “just do it that way, trust me!” My boss suggested that I respond with a standard “thank you for your input” for things such as this.
Well, those are some key ones, but I’m sure I’ve missed several. I invite anyone who reads this to submit their own design challenges. This is a work in progress and I intend to update it with the best ways to address these challenges.
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August 9th, 2007 at 8:31 am
Hey Russell - good list. I’d add one that I’ve come across a lot lately, and posted to the ixda list - that it’s hard to figure ROI on what you leave out. To me good design is often about choosing what to omit, which is made difficult when, generally speaking, everyone else in the organization is pushing to add something. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to say “see - not adding that thing worked great!”
August 9th, 2007 at 6:15 pm
Hi Russell, I think we have the same job =].
Re: Intuit, I know a program manager there and did a project for them awhile back - to answer your question: Yes, they are the nirvana of user centered design. They respect and support their usability folks and treat them as equal members of all projects. Great place to be if you can move to Mountain View =]