Category: UI Design
Abstract: It is amazing that the emblem of the Information Age, the Windows PC, is so fault-ridden,
        confusing, and frustrating to use. I design computers for a living, but I still find my Windows
        PC crashing several times a week and doing weird things that I don't understand. I shudder
        to think what it is like for nontechnologists. 
        <br>
        The computer industry is mostly to blame for this failure. Consumers also deserve some of
        the blame. An analogy can be made with airline service. Everyone complains about airline
        food and tightly packed seats. However, it has been shown time and time again that people
        buy the lowest priced tickets. They aren't willing to pay slightly more for better service.
        Windows-based PCs are inexpensive, and that's why people buy them. The Macintosh was
        a better product but more expensive. 
        <br>
        The way out of this mess is to design more reliable, easier-to-use products that cost less,
        not more. This is what I attempted when I designed the PalmPilot. The PalmPilot has
        succeeded because it reliably does what it claims to do, is relatively easy to use, and is
        relatively inexpensive. Here are some of the rules I use when designing. 
        <ol>
        <li>
        Eliminate options. Often, engineers and designers can't agree on the best way to
        perform a task. When this happens, their first tendency is to make it an option, allowing both
        methods. An example of this is the "overstrike" and "insert" modes for entering text from a
        keyboard. How many times have users accidentally hit the "Insert" key and not have a clue
        why text starts disappearing as they type! An abundance of preferences and options makes
        great feature lists on packages, but these "features" are confusing to users and rarely used.
        Good design is like good editing, eliminate the extraneous, leave only the essential. It is
        difficult to do. 
        <li>
        No waiting. I banished the hourglass "wait" cursor. PalmOS doesn't have one. If we found
        an operation took too much time we either eliminated the feature, redesigned it, or solved
        the problem a different way so the user doesn't have to wait for common operations. It is
        better not to do something than to do it poorly. 
        <li>
        Underpromise, overdeliver. It's tempting to tout all the capabilities of your product, no
        matter how marginal. Users are happier to find that a product reliably does what it promised
        -- and then discover that the product does more than expected. If their expectations are
        set high, they will only be disappointed. 
        <li>
        Eliminate errors and error messages. It would be welcome if all error messages were
        comprehensible and explained in detail, but that treats only the symptom. The real challenge
        is to eliminate errors in the first place. Although not completely possible, it's surprising how
        much can be done. Better design and more thorough testing go a long way. Whenever
        possible, I would dictate that no error message will appear and that the system should do the
        best it can to recover from a problem. After all, if users cannot understand an error message
        or cannot do anything about the error, why bother showing it to them? A meaningless and
        cryptic message is worse than none at all. 
        </ol>
        Twenty years ago, Japanese car manufacturers introduced more reliable and less expensive
        cars. This forced U.S. auto makers to improve their quality. The same will eventually happen
        in the personal computer market. Less expensive and more reliable products like the
        PalmPilot will eventually force Microsoft and PC makers to improve. But as we saw with
        Detroit, don't expect it to happen overnight. 
Comment: 「オプションをなくせ」「人を待たせるな」「いろいろ出来ると言うな」「エラーとエラーメッセージを
        根絶せよ」ということらしい。
Bibtype: WebPage
URL: http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/sep1998/nf80929b.htm
Month: sep	
Author: Jeff Hawkins
Title: The PalmPilot's Creator Refrects on
        Good Design
Year: 1998
Date: 2003/08/01 08:42:14