September 2nd, 2004
Seven deadly excuses for poor design
Kevin Scoresby on the seven deadly excuses for poor design
When people make excuses for poor design, they reveal a lot about a corporate culture, as well as about their own beliefs and the level of personal responsibility they feel for a product’s success.
1. We have to be first to market.
Translation: We don’t have time to make sure the product meets our customer’s needs.
2. Our budget doesn’t allow for design specialists.
Translation: We can’t invest what’s needed to maximize long-term company revenue.
3. The requirements make it clear what has to be done.
Translation: Simply including certain features is more important than how those features are implemented.
4. Well, it makes sense to me.
Translation: I’m a representative sample of our customer base.
5. It will be so cool if we do it this way.
Translation: My personal target audience is my co-worker (or resumé) rather than the customer.
6. Customers will get used to it.
Translation: Customers will continue using the product long enough to lose touch with how difficult it is.
7. That’s what the help desk is for.
Translation: The design issues will soon be someone else’s problem.
