When I try out a product, I like it to work. Sometimes, I like to tinker with things to gain a better understanding of how they work. Occasionally, I can manipulate them with skill. At other
times, I'm tinkering in the true sense of the word.
I'm going to point out a few problems I've had with some products I've been using. I won't name names, but some of you who also use these
products (or similar ones with the same problems) might understand what I'm talking about.
Hopefully, you all can draw a good conclusion from it.
I'm not a mechanic, but sometimes I might want to look into my radiator. Is there a reason
I need to disassemble the front of my car to unscrew the radiator cap? Likewise, diagnosing a problem with, and subsequently changing a starter or alternator isn't a task that only automobile doctors should perform. These are relatively high-failure parts that shouldn't require taking
apart the exhaust system to replace. That's the tinkerer in me talking.
Image courtesy Daimler-Chrysler via How Stuff Works
I am a software developer, but sometimes I don't want to act like one when I work
with software written by someone else. Don't make me build your product from source. I'm not asking you to build it for me, and then email it to me. I'm just asking if it's possible for you to set up an automated build on all of the platforms where you intend your software to work.
I enjoy the ability to tinker with
open source software, not the requirement to do so.
The situation is even worse for proprietary programs. If you're lucky, there might be a way to mess with the settings that satisfies the tinkerer in you. But if you're not lucky,
you could do things like upgrade your operating system and have it break something in 3rd party code. Then you'll be at the mercy of that vendor
to make their software run properly with your upgrade. In the mean time, you're stuck
manually starting the software, or writing your own scripts to do it.
In the first release of an accounting package, I might expect to edit a text file to set my tax rate. But I better not have to do that in the ninth version. Moreover, if your software makes
certain assumptions about its running environment and those assumptions are parts that are
likely to fail, you better make sure I can change them in your program without tearing it
apart.
In the end, I understand that for early versions of products, you might not have worked out all the kinks or even found its purpose or audience. I expect that as an early adopter, and when I take that plunge, I enjoy it.
But once you're several years old and multiple versions in, I don't think it's too much to
have certain expectations. At that point,
your software should just work and make it easy to make small adjustments.
Hey! Why don't you make your life easier and subscribe to the full post
or short blurb RSS feed? I'm so confident you'll love my smelly pasta plate
wisdom that I'm offering a no-strings-attached, lifetime money back guarantee!
Leave a comment
There are no comments for this entry yet.
Leave a comment
