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> .. where the UI matters less than in consumer software It's this statement that goes a long way to showing why we need UX professionals and UI designers. A

by lwhi 6y ago

> .. where the UI matters less than in consumer software It's this statement that goes a long way to showing why we need UX professionals and UI designers. A good UI directly affects the bottom line of a company. A badly designed UI costs money. It's as simple as that.

diggan 6y ago
Again, context and surrounding requirements are important to consider here. I'm not saying that it's always like that, or it's like that everywhere. But most internal CRUD apps could do with worse UI and still provide the same up front/bottom line value as some internal CRUD app with slightly better UI but requiring a developer to implement. Sometimes the cost for making the UI better costs more than the value you get from having that UI better. It's not a black-and-white "Better UI is always better", it simply depends on too many variables to have that frame of mind.
- lwhi 6y ago
  Better usability is always better. The UI directly affects usability. If a problem is so straightforward it doesn't require designing, sure .. then go ahead and let anyone build it. If not, find someone who has spent time solving similar problems successfully.
  - diggan 6y ago
    > Better usability is always better Ok? The thing is, software is rarely created in a vacuum, if it was, we'd all be working towards perfection and never really reach it, nor complete or release any software. You have to balance constraints, and sometimes one of those constraints is money, or energy, or head count. Whatever. There is always balances to be made, and sometimes it's not worth to spend 20% of time increasing the usability by 2%. Sometimes it is, sometimes it's not. The apps I build for myself, that will never be published, has about 5% of my time thinking about the UI, because it simply doesn't matter and thinking more about it, won't make my life better in any way. Sometimes internal apps have to be treated the same way, if the constraints force you to treat them that way.
    - lwhi 6y ago
      You were referring to applications that businesses use in-house. I responded to that point. I'm sorry, I still think my point stands. Even in-house software requires a good user experience, and the UI directly affects that UX. Designing a UI that works is a non trivial task; leaving it to people who don't have experience can effectively lead to a business losing a lot of money.

by lwhi 6y ago

diggan 6y ago

Again, context and surrounding requirements are important to consider here. I'm not saying that it's always like that, or it's like that everywhere. But most internal CRUD apps could do with worse UI and still provide the same up front/bottom line value as some internal CRUD app with slightly better UI but requiring a developer to implement. Sometimes the cost for making the UI better costs more than the value you get from having that UI better. It's not a black-and-white "Better UI is always better", it simply depends on too many variables to have that frame of mind.

lwhi 6y ago
Better usability is always better. The UI directly affects usability. If a problem is so straightforward it doesn't require designing, sure .. then go ahead and let anyone build it. If not, find someone who has spent time solving similar problems successfully.
- diggan 6y ago
  > Better usability is always better Ok? The thing is, software is rarely created in a vacuum, if it was, we'd all be working towards perfection and never really reach it, nor complete or release any software. You have to balance constraints, and sometimes one of those constraints is money, or energy, or head count. Whatever. There is always balances to be made, and sometimes it's not worth to spend 20% of time increasing the usability by 2%. Sometimes it is, sometimes it's not. The apps I build for myself, that will never be published, has about 5% of my time thinking about the UI, because it simply doesn't matter and thinking more about it, won't make my life better in any way. Sometimes internal apps have to be treated the same way, if the constraints force you to treat them that way.
  - lwhi 6y ago
    You were referring to applications that businesses use in-house. I responded to that point. I'm sorry, I still think my point stands. Even in-house software requires a good user experience, and the UI directly affects that UX. Designing a UI that works is a non trivial task; leaving it to people who don't have experience can effectively lead to a business losing a lot of money.