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Why Software Developers Suck at UX

cakewalklabs.com

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Re: Why Software Developers Suck at UX

#21

Post by masswerk »

bichiliad wrote: post #7

This article is close, but misses the mark. Talking about how UX researchers must grow up having more empathy sounds like an assumption that's pretty hard to back up, considering I can point to plenty of software engineers that got into the profession because they want to build a better world for others. I have a double degree in something that's effectively user experience. The one thing I heard in school over and o…

I'd argue, good (let's say) usability is about communicating the/a mental model via your interface. Is your interface up to it? Is the model stringent and concise enough to be communicated just by the arrangement of elements? It's a bit like world building.

(That's what Apple used to be particularly good at, once. I'd also argue, software has become quite bad at this, recently.)

Re: Why Software Developers Suck at UX

#22

Post by TwoBit »

l0b0 wrote: post #15

> I think great UX designers just grew up naturally having much more empathy towards others and having a much better ability to place themselves in others shoes and see the world from their eyes. If UX designers are so good at empathy, how is it that I, as a developer, keep having to point out that - making links show up as buttons and vice versa is bad UX, - mixing heading levels willy-nilly is bad UX, - bringing in…

Isn't the motivation for arbitrarily unique design to stand out? To look like you aren't just another commodity web site and product?

Re: Why Software Developers Suck at UX

#23

Post by nullIsAnObject »

jlizzle30 wrote: post #10

Often my designs suck because I've been busting my ass to get the system to work and haven't had time/energy to take on the UX design as well. I find it irritating to be criticized for a design that's meant to be a placeholder.

Lol... the number of times I've had my placeholders end up not just in the finished product, but on stage at keynotes in front of thousands of people...

Re: Why Software Developers Suck at UX

#25

Post by tsumnia »

I think one of the reasons is that "we don't train people on how to make UIs". If you look at when UI is introduced in CS programs, its as a visual example for Object Oriented Programming. However, its introduced and immediately moved over. The next time its used is only if the program has a specific course on UI development.

Re: Why Software Developers Suck at UX

#27

Post by GuB-42 »

One thing I noticed when coders (myself included) do their own UX is that it ends being optimized for testing the code.

I mean, the thing coders do the most with their software is to try it, test it and fix bugs. For them, the best UX is the one that gets them to their breakpoint as quickly as possible and reveals as much as the internal state of the program as possible. If you are doing coverage analysis, expect to see elements that serve no other purpose than to reach 100%. Of course, it is not a use case for the end user.

Even when they are also users, they know what their code is capable of, and will sneak in plenty of ways of accessing every function, that's extra features for cheap, but ones that require a level of understanding of the inner workings that regular users won't have.

Re: Why Software Developers Suck at UX

#28

Post by SilasX »

l0b0 wrote: post #15

> I think great UX designers just grew up naturally having much more empathy towards others and having a much better ability to place themselves in others shoes and see the world from their eyes. If UX designers are so good at empathy, how is it that I, as a developer, keep having to point out that - making links show up as buttons and vice versa is bad UX, - mixing heading levels willy-nilly is bad UX, - bringing in…

This. I almost see an anti-correlation, where the worst UX sites spend the most on UX designers -- I find FB and Quora a pain to use, while the easiest sites are the hacked-together bootstrap ones or the ones that never left the 90s.

Brief examples: Quora on mobile has the user-hostile floating headers and if I switch to desktop the text is impossibly small. FB takes a long time to load on comments I click from my notifications, and recently forced the switchover to the ugly redesign.

Re: Why Software Developers Suck at UX

#29

Post by magicalhippo »

For me the biggest issue with making a good UX when developing is primarily that, by virtue of being the developer making the thing, I have a perfect mental model of how the software works.

This makes it difficult to view the software from the POV of someone who is not in that position. It takes a conscious effort, and even then I find it difficult.

That's why I enjoy taking support calls every now and then, looking at screenshots or viewing the customer reproducing an issue over Teamviewer and having the customer explain what they think should happen and what actually happens. I might prod a bit, ask about why they do things a certain way, or to discover more about how they work and what they need our software to do.

Invariably I learn how we can improve some area of our application, making it more intuitive, less error prone or simply improve the workflow.

Re: Why Software Developers Suck at UX

#30

Post by gurkendoktor »

SilasX wrote: post #28
l0b0 wrote: post #15

> I think great UX designers just grew up naturally having much more empathy towards others and having a much better ability to place themselves in others shoes and see the world from their eyes. If UX designers are so good at empathy, how is it that I, as a developer, keep having to point out that - making links show up as buttons and vice versa is bad UX, - mixing heading levels willy-nilly is bad UX, - bringing in…

This. I almost see an anti-correlation, where the worst UX sites spend the most on UX designers -- I find FB and Quora a pain to use, while the easiest sites are the hacked-together bootstrap ones or the ones that never left the 90s. Brief examples: Quora on mobile has the user-hostile floating headers and if I switch to desktop the text is impossibly small. FB takes a long time to load on comments I click from my no…

I've seen someone put it that way, and I agree: developers are often to blame for mediocre UX, and designers for downright terrible UX.
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