New Delhi Times

I’ll tell you why software is not interactive enough. Every program tries to do too much, probably because marketing wants to address as many user needs as possible to ensure maximum revenues. I mean, who uses even 20% of MSOffice, but each one of us uses a different 20%. So MSOffice is a vast program that pays off for the company but costs the user some interactivity.
What will change the paradigm is an invention called the internet. Internet resident apps can afford to be specific, small, one trick ponies. Interactivity will automatically become the norm just like it is with single-task utilities.
Having agreed with you in criticizing software, I must confess I remain a big fan. How in the world these software programmers can create programs that mimic the manual world to give people a sense of comfort while adding the efficiencies of the computer is just beyond me. I am old enough to have experienced both the old manual world and the new digital world. So I appreciate software even more.

I agree. Usability is the pits for most applications (web or otherwise) developed by and for Indians. I’ve long since ceased visiting sites like TOI, Rediff, etc., for their utter lack of usability. The Indiatimes network makes me want to gauge out my eyes.
As an engineer I take offence to the statement that us engineers fear usable, good, design – I welcome it with open arms. I’m all for it, always trying to improve stuff around me, but then I cannot agree with you more – most engineers do tend to view design as an afterthought (unless the design involves the application or product internals).
Don’t know where interactivity comes in, but it already is the norm. More interactivity doesn’t have to mean troubled UI and design. Making an application bloated by tossing in everything (save the kitchen sink) is a geek thing, but there are apps that are relatively beautiful to work with and yet quite powerful. One needs to identify the users’ tendencies and make those options available first, cleaning up the interface. The internet isn’t this magical medium that’ll solve our problems. It just enables people to do the same thing differently – so unless one learns from previous events and invests in a more usable future the applications will still suck.

I agree. Usability is the pits for most applications (web or otherwise) developed by and for Indians. I’ve long since ceased visiting sites like TOI, Rediff, etc., for their utter lack of usability. The Indiatimes network makes me want to gauge out my eyes.
As an engineer I take offence to the statement that us engineers fear usable, good, design – I welcome it with open arms. I’m all for it, always trying to improve stuff around me, but then I cannot agree with you more – most engineers do tend to view design as an afterthought (unless the design involves the application or product internals).
Don’t know where interactivity comes in, but it already is the norm. More interactivity doesn’t have to mean troubled UI and design. Making an application bloated by tossing in everything (save the kitchen sink) is a geek thing, but there are apps that are relatively beautiful to work with and yet quite powerful. One needs to identify the users’ tendencies and make those options available first, cleaning up the interface. The internet isn’t this magical medium that’ll solve our problems. It just enables people to do the same thing differently – so unless one learns from previous events and invests in a more usable future the applications will still suck.

It’s not about usability design. It’s the culture. We do everything the difficult way even in real life. Starting with headshakes…

Well I couldnt agree more with you Gaurav. Design was a less stressed activity in software development, be it desktop or web-based, both in the Silicon Valley here in the US and as you say in India. But slowly people here are changing their outlook on design and actually laying a lot more emphasis on it. In one of the courses that I have taken this Fall, the instructor told us that people used to think that their customers(who visit their sites, etc) would be attracted by features like the privacy policy of the site, and other technical bullshit, but after a comprehensive study at Stanford, they came up with 10 points which makes a website look more credible and people want to return to it – and the number one was – make the site ‘look’ professional and make it cater to the needs to the audience it addresses, and are easy to use. So a lot of people in the valley are actually experts in design coz that is what yahoo, google, amazon are looking for, people who are good at design – who know what people look for on a website. You could take a look at this work:
captology.stanford.edu/pdf/Stanford-MakovskyWebCredStudy2002-prelim.pdf
Though its a bit old, I think all of its tenets still stand even today.

My ad agency got into web design in 1995. How early is that! Getting http://www.dayal.com was no problem back then. Try getting a URL with a popular last name today.
Anyway, our USP (I know Indians love that marketing term initially coined by an ad man called Rosser Reeves) simply was – we are marketing people who know the internet, not internet gurus trying to learn marketing.
We have made a few dollars with that promise.

I think this is true across the board … whether it is designing a web portal or a machine tool or even a building … i think what is common among them is that usually , atleast in our country , the emphasis is on completing “the job” in the quickest and most efficient way possible … the simplest way to do that is to do the “tried and tested” ….basically –> the”no risk” policy … that hardly leaves space for innovation and creativity … which are important from the “usability” point of view …
am a Civil Engineer and I can tell you … that in most Construction projects “usability” is thrown to the wind (though this has been changing oflate)…. the Architect(to give form to the structure) , the design/structual engineer (to design the structual reinforcement etc.) , the construction engineer/manager (to actually execute the project using the most appropriate techniques) are all partners in crime ….
… I think what we usually do is that we get so involved in the technical and procedual mumbo jumbo , that we just forget to question the utility of the “time tested” procedures and techniques we are going to employ , in any particular situation …
… big construction projects (townships , building complexes , large bridges , tunnels ,dams etc.) , always run into 100s if not 1000s of crores , involving Architechtural design firms (barring a few cases),Design Engineering Consultancies ,Project Management Firms , “the Client” and ofcourse the “Contractor” … many-a-times of diferent nationalities … with everybody pushing their own agenda and pitching in their own “ideas” …. employing hundreds of professioanls and tens of thousands of labour … it is quite exasperating to attempt to highlight issues from “utility” point of view , but I feel everyone can attempt innovations (technical/managerial/procedural etc.) at his her own level , however small the impact maybe , as when the opportunity presents itself …
… i feel , more than a trend , it is a habit born out of practice … which more often than not needs to be cultivated …

Right on target! I guess those who develop/design software often test it so much that it becomes difficult for them to see how hard it can be for a novice to use the same application. Companies like Google and Apple seem to lay quite a stress on usability and it certainly shows.

I agree that design and usability are issues across industries and disciplines. I am not sure if the internet solves the usability problem in case of software. If anything, it is much easier to create unusable software for the internet Usability and design are definitely a “culture” thing. You cant teach these things – they need to be cultivated by the organization and embedded in the mindset of the team.

I think GUI design isnt deemed unimportant! In fact I have seen a lot of stress on the presentation of the same.. after all it’s the “face” of the software.
But yes, from a developer POV, *working* on a GUI design is definitely considered lowly compared to let’s say the latest technology like 3G/VOIP etc.

http://www.useit.com is where I keep myself updated with latest findings in the usability field. I share the feeling of un-easiness with you all that usability is often the most underserved part of the project. Intranet sites are the biggest victims. I have seen website forms with more than 35 fields to fill out and only half of the screen scrolls! Poor users! they have to fill it out or else the corporation won’t seek their products/services.
Well, I hope as more and more people get on the internet, providing friendly interfaces will be a strategic advantage even for intranet softwares.

http://www.useit.com is where I keep myself updated with latest findings in the usability field. I share the feeling of un-easiness with you all that usability is often the most underserved part of the project. Intranet sites are the biggest victims. I have seen website forms with more than 35 fields to fill out and only half of the screen scrolls! Poor users! they have to fill it out or else the corporation won’t seek their products/services.
Well, I hope as more and more people get on the internet, providing friendly interfaces will be a strategic advantage even for intranet softwares. I see quite a few ‘web 2.0′ sites (example: http://www.linkedin.com) with a lot of attention to usability.

I completely agree india doesn’t have a clue about usability. Has anyone checked out the infosys website? supposedly “the software leader” in India? Think about any information you want to access from the website and then access it instead of simply browsing. It’s a nightmare.
I guess interactivity and usability are two terms are not even cool jargon.