The laws of shitty dashboards

Post by myhf » Mon, Sep 15, 2014, 3:45 AM UTC

XorNot wrote: post #78

userbinator wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Finally, the tach can be used as a raw assessment of the load you're putting on an engine and you can optimize your driving habits according to that. Perfect example of this are the people who drive with an automatic and somehow manage to stay just below a shift point much of the time, meaning that the engine is at a higher RPM than it needs to be and could be consuming more fuel and wearing faster as a result.

...this doesn't really tally, especially in modern automatics with electronic gearboxes. Most engines are optimally efficient at some key number of revs, and the gearbox strives to keep the car in that range.

Post by pbreit » Mon, Sep 15, 2014, 4:33 AM UTC

mattgrice wrote: post #61

aunty_helen wrote: post #19

>They also employ UX techniques that dates from a time where the only UI component you can use was a light bulb. If that red thing is critical, can’t you tell me right away what it means? This annoyed me a little bit. A check engine light is the perfect component for what it does. If it's on it means that something may be seriously wrong and that you're probably too stupid or ill-equipped to fix it. If it was somethi…

That is not the purpose of the check engine light (official name "Malfunction Indicator Light"). At least in the US the light only comes on when there is a problem that affects emissions, and it is usually nothing that would cause a breakdown. It usually does not mean anything serious is wrong and the most common cause is a loose gas cap, which is easily fixed.

Post by potatosareok » Mon, Sep 15, 2014, 4:39 AM UTC

vkjv wrote: post #67

dredmorbius wrote: post #42

Not all dashboards are shitty or useless. New Relic comes to mind, and it's a tool I've found hugely useful. While it doesn't instrument full system monitoring (though it's getting there), it provides numerous system and site metrics, monitoring, and a useful degree of logging, that's hugely useful. One of the biggest gains for us came when it implemented JVM heap monitoring. This is possible through jconsole, but jc…

Interesting, because we use New Relic extensively, and I was just thinking of it as the prime example of, "what the hell is the purpose of all these dashboards and what do they mean?"

Post by coldtea » Mon, Sep 15, 2014, 4:42 AM UTC

jschwartzi wrote: post #27

aunty_helen wrote: post #19

>They also employ UX techniques that dates from a time where the only UI component you can use was a light bulb. If that red thing is critical, can’t you tell me right away what it means? This annoyed me a little bit. A check engine light is the perfect component for what it does. If it's on it means that something may be seriously wrong and that you're probably too stupid or ill-equipped to fix it. If it was somethi…

It's also a great design because it needs to be highly reliable, and lights are probably the simplest things you can apply power to to generate a notification. Also the note about the tachometer struck me as a little odd. The tachometer can tell you if your vehicle is running at a high idle, if the bumps you're feeling are misfires or the road, and it can also tell you whether you've accidentally left your vehicle in…

Post by coldtea » Mon, Sep 15, 2014, 4:52 AM UTC

dkarapetyan wrote: post #41

error54 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if it's an event that happens infrequently, say 2 times year? In such cases, it wouldn't be worthwhile to spend the time automating when it's easier/cheaper to take manual action.

No, automation is always the answer. When you are forced to formalize processes with code you invariably find all sorts of hidden assumptions. This has happened to me every single time I've tried to automate legacy manual processes. There are always hidden assumptions that are unearthed. Unearthing hidden assumptions is always worth the effort.