I really believe every software engineer should set aside some time and just watch a normal person interact with technology. Don't interrupt, just watch their process. It's mind-boggling how many inefficient workflows people are using because they aren't confident enough.
On some TVs, plugging in a USB stick pops up a notice like "would you like to view the contents?"
If you don't choose "yes" in time and the toast disappears, the alternative is to navigate a few menu items deep through an ad-filled home screen (maybe 10 clicks worth). It's easier to just physically unplug-replug.
I actually had a TV where that window was the only way to switch to the USB drive. What a pain that must've been for developers to test (though maybe they just dropped in some USB library and called it a day).
Nothing blew my mind like watching my first girlfriend reset her password every single time she wanted to log into anything because she never remembered a single password.
It's been at least 20 years since companies stopped listening to software developers. Now we have product owners, scrum masters, bussiness analysts, delivery managers.
All of those roles existed 20 years ago. UX issues are being ignored because the manufacturers do not care about a product that is sold at a loss, only the after-sales revenue that can come from ads and other content distribution deals.
Totally agree. Learning how to explain technology as a teenager to my grandparents and assist them with it in a way they can understand gave me a much more holistic view towards tech. I honestly believe it's helped me quite a bit in my career as a software engineer because I can communicate effectively with my non-technical coworkers and serve as a bridge between them and the devs.
Growing up, I was tech support for family and friends of family and also my own friends. I eventually worked as a PC technician for a few years and now work as a software developer. I have a very keen eye for how bad UI/UX is for most devices, computers and software because of it and it's been a huge help in my work in the same way, but it's also been quite infuriating when I see decisions being made that prioritize KPIs like sale and click through rates that intentionally make the UX worse.
Watching someone (relatively competent in their field) search on Google for "Gmail" then click on the first link to open their inbox a few years ago killed my faith in humanity.
> I've heard plenty of engineers say. "Yes, but that's a training issue"
I'd go one step deeper.
Where did they learn to say this?
I bet they learned to say this from the business.
Because I've asked about input validation on a line of business application and heard something similar to this "given this application is used by internal users only and because these users are trained experts on this subject, we don't need input validation".
You will get shut down really quickly if you ask whether a combination of choosing option A in step 12 and option C in step 37 together makes any sense at that company. Ask me how I know.
Oh yeah, of course the same person asked why we allowed these combinations once the application hit production.
Why do you think most engineers would understand users particularly well? From my experience, they're the worst at empathising with users, understanding user pain points and the value of a good UX.
