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Do we change UIs for no good reason? Sure. Far too often? Yes. But the underlying approach of using cheat sheets to walk step by step through work tools is not

Do we change UIs for no good reason? Sure. Far too often? Yes. But the underlying approach of using cheat sheets to walk step by step through work tools is not a tenable one and isn’t for cloud-based software (i.e. software that changes without asking first). Instead cheat sheets should be for core concepts (a purchase order has these components… a packing slip must be compared against the order quantity, etc) That way you know what everything is, and even when the UI changes you know what concepts you’re looking for. If the UI is any good, it’ll surface the main stuff and tuck away the rare stuff, but it’ll all still be there (if it’s suddenly not, that’s when you have to complain or switch vendors). When I was a kid my elderly aunt would ask me to teach her how to check e-mail or open solitaire by writing down click steps for her. Inevitably a week later and a month later she’d need me to show her again, because she refused to develop a mental model of what a “button” is, a “menu” is, an “icon” is, etc. If by some chance an icon moved two spots in a menu, she was dumbfounded, frustrated at the audacity, and unable to complete her goal.

Cthulhu_ 5y ago
Of course, these products / services could unlazy themselves and create and maintain guides themselves - the rate of change would be reduced a LOT if they had to update guides accordingly.
- newsbinator 5y ago
  I agree the onus should be on makers to provide docs or a UX that guides the user. Would a tool that provides detailed and up-to-date instructions sell better and retain markedly more customers than one that doesn't?
- AlwaysRock 5y ago
  Yup. Almost all documentation, even documentation that is called "good", in software is pretty awful. Developers grow to accept it but give any layperson software documentation and try to get them to set up your tool/service. I bet they will quit 5 minutes in. Is that the standard we should hold documentation to? I don't know but I bet your user/customer count would go up if it was a lot easier to get started.
A4ET8a8uTh0 5y ago
Eh. Yes, in theory. In practice, I have a bunch of procedures written for people, for whom I have to explain basic filtering functionality in Excel. So even relatively minor change in UI or even underlying concept is a big deal. Just talking about it gives me a Vietnam flashback to the time we had to update all procedures at once and the ridiculous granularity with which I had to describe each step. I hate to say it, but not everyone is ready to re-learn every single things from scratch. I can, but I avoid whenever I can. If the previous approach works, don't change it unless there is a good reason to. Will someone please think of the users.
- criddell 5y ago
  Was continuing to use the older version of Excel not an option?
  - newsbinator 5y ago
    I took GP's meaning as "these people need to have basic Excel filtering explained to them, so how can they be expected to deal with various UI/UX changes?" I don't know the answer: at some point a person needs to take responsibility for knowing the tools of their trade. Or a person hiring them needs to take responsibility for hiring people who know the tools of their trade. Either these tools are mission critical and therefore employees should understand how/why they work, or the tools are not mission critical and therefore it's not a big deal when their interfaces change. There's a middle ground there where tools shouldn't change so fast and when they do it should be well documented.
  - A4ET8a8uTh0 5y ago
    Sorry. I did not make it clear. I used Excel as a way to indicate avg. user ability. The system in this case was provided by a different vendor and, in that particular case, drastically changed UI and how the system behaved. My point was, you don't spring changes like that with, seemingly, no forethought.
criddell 5y ago
> isn’t for cloud-based software (i.e. software that changes without asking first) Is it inconceivable that cloud-based software wouldn't change without asking first? My employer uses the wonderful Redmine for issue tracking and we haven't been surprised by changes because we control when to move to new versions.
mikewarot 5y ago
Your elderly Aunt was a packer... someone who needs a step by step "click this spot" list of things to get it done. She doesn't have a mental map of how things fit together, she just wants here list of actions to follow. It's how she got through life. Programmers are mappers, most people are somewhere in between, but the few packers I worked with would be lost in this ever changing sh*tshow being spewed forth by the valley these days. That's a lot of customers to throw away.

Cthulhu_ 5y ago

Of course, these products / services could unlazy themselves and create and maintain guides themselves - the rate of change would be reduced a LOT if they had to update guides accordingly.

newsbinator 5y ago
I agree the onus should be on makers to provide docs or a UX that guides the user. Would a tool that provides detailed and up-to-date instructions sell better and retain markedly more customers than one that doesn't?
AlwaysRock 5y ago
Yup. Almost all documentation, even documentation that is called "good", in software is pretty awful. Developers grow to accept it but give any layperson software documentation and try to get them to set up your tool/service. I bet they will quit 5 minutes in. Is that the standard we should hold documentation to? I don't know but I bet your user/customer count would go up if it was a lot easier to get started.

A4ET8a8uTh0 5y ago

Eh. Yes, in theory. In practice, I have a bunch of procedures written for people, for whom I have to explain basic filtering functionality in Excel. So even relatively minor change in UI or even underlying concept is a big deal. Just talking about it gives me a Vietnam flashback to the time we had to update all procedures at once and the ridiculous granularity with which I had to describe each step. I hate to say it, but not everyone is ready to re-learn every single things from scratch. I can, but I avoid whenever I can. If the previous approach works, don't change it unless there is a good reason to. Will someone please think of the users.

criddell 5y ago
Was continuing to use the older version of Excel not an option?
- newsbinator 5y ago
  I took GP's meaning as "these people need to have basic Excel filtering explained to them, so how can they be expected to deal with various UI/UX changes?" I don't know the answer: at some point a person needs to take responsibility for knowing the tools of their trade. Or a person hiring them needs to take responsibility for hiring people who know the tools of their trade. Either these tools are mission critical and therefore employees should understand how/why they work, or the tools are not mission critical and therefore it's not a big deal when their interfaces change. There's a middle ground there where tools shouldn't change so fast and when they do it should be well documented.
- A4ET8a8uTh0 5y ago
  Sorry. I did not make it clear. I used Excel as a way to indicate avg. user ability. The system in this case was provided by a different vendor and, in that particular case, drastically changed UI and how the system behaved. My point was, you don't spring changes like that with, seemingly, no forethought.

criddell 5y ago

> isn’t for cloud-based software (i.e. software that changes without asking first) Is it inconceivable that cloud-based software wouldn't change without asking first? My employer uses the wonderful Redmine for issue tracking and we haven't been surprised by changes because we control when to move to new versions.

mikewarot 5y ago

Your elderly Aunt was a packer... someone who needs a step by step "click this spot" list of things to get it done. She doesn't have a mental map of how things fit together, she just wants here list of actions to follow. It's how she got through life. Programmers are mappers, most people are somewhere in between, but the few packers I worked with would be lost in this ever changing sh*tshow being spewed forth by the valley these days. That's a lot of customers to throw away.