Re: Ideas from the north...

[Doug Loss <dloss@csrlink.net>]

Pierre-Luc Simard wrote:
> 
> When you make a software put yourself at the same level as the
> everyday-teacher who don't realy want to learn how a computer work to
> be able to use is gradebook.
> 
This is an important point that can't be made too strongly.  For a
program to be successful it has to do something for the user that he
wants to do and that he can't do easier in some other fashion.  If
driving a car required knowledge of the workings of an internal
combustion engine, most people wouldn't bother.

That said, there's no such thing as an immediately intuitive user
interface.  If users refuse to learn _anything_ new, it doesn't matter
how easy your program is to use; they won't try it.  So make your
program as simple and straightforward as possible, but don't try to
anticipate everything a user might do.

-- 
Doug Loss                 It is impossible to imagine Goethe
Data Network Coordinator  or Beethoven being good at billiards
Bloomsburg University     or golf.
dloss@bloomu.edu                H. L. Mencken