-----Original Message----- From: Paul M Foster [mailto:paulf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2012 6:31 PM To: php-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: What do you call the end-user? On Thu, Jul 19, 2012 at 01:26:50PM -0400, Tedd Sperling wrote: > Hi gang: > > I can't wait for tomorrow -- so here's my off-topic post today. > > First question: > > What do you call the people who ultimately use your code? > > I call them the "end-user", but others have stated other terms, such > as "customer" or "user". "User", because I'm writing the code for *my* customer. The person actually exposed to my code may or may not be a customer of anyone. They may simply be an internet surfer at my customer's site. > > Second question: > > Are you concerned with their ("whomever") experience in using your > code? > > This question transcends your code working correctly, accurately, and > securely -- no need to comment on those aspects. But rather more > specifically do you consider how easily your "whomever" can use your > work efforts? > > As you may have guessed - I just attended a UX conference and they > provide an interesting perspective on UX. I was wondering how php > developers typically address the subject. I'm interested in user experience to a limited extent. My interest stops when a user wants the code to wipe their nose for them. "Can we make the website automatically update our accounting system and then write a check for the cost of goods to the vendor? Sure. How much money do you have?" (Their accounting system is some inscrutable pile of Windows COM objects, like SAP, behind a firewall. And they don't even know which vendor to write the check to. I guess mental telepathy is a part of the PHP libraries not installed on my development system.) Or "when someone sends the form on the website for an appointment request, can you make a reminder pop up on all the desktops in the office? No, I can't. Here's an idea: assign someone to check the email for appointment requests throughout the day, and contact the customer to confirm, based on you actually *looking* at your appointment calendar." Sheesh. Apparently, computers (not mine) are capable of performing magic tricks. I think my screens should be fairly self-explanatory, if possible. But I'm averse to making them idiot-proof. If you're an idiot, get someone else to operate your computer for you. You shouldn't be using one. But there may be times when a computer screen or set of screens will absolutely require some training, rather than someone completely unfamiliar with the workings of the office just sitting down and being able to guess how to operate the system. You didn't learn to drive by just sitting in a car and guessing how it is done. Don't expect a web-based application to be operable simply by guessing, necessarily. By the way, I'm quite happy to write documentation for systems. Unfortunately, more than half the people who read anything can't actually *apply* what they read to whatever system they're working with. Supposedly they can read. But somehow they still need someone to explain it to them, no matter how good the docs are. Paul -- Paul M. Foster http://noferblatz.com http://quillandmouse.com -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php --------------------------------------------------------------- LOL Paul, You are so very spot on, I have a current customer who would like the website to just load when he logs in. I wish I had not agreed to writing him a startup script to load the interface for him because NOW he wants it to auto login for him. They use a random key generator as a portion on their login authentication. So let's see: The system sends you a report every hour on the hour. You no longer have to navigate to the interface. It auto logs into the system for you..... I pander to these kind of people like there is no tomorrow when they are the ones who sign the check, because anything outside of scope cost BIG TIME. :) I have gone so far to create training aids that are system mimics to explain to them what they are doing wrong and what the next step is. I use to write SCO compliant learning systems and let me tell you there is NO such thing as idiot proof. -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
