Note To End Users
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Your fantasies regarding appearance and functionality rarely align with the reality of implementation.
.45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly
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"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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"The staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - J. Jystad, 2001You should be happy, man... My users just give me an Excel spreadsheet and say "Make it kind of like that"... So I have to GUESS what they really want, and then find out six months after release that it wasn't how they wanted it, but they were too afraid to ask for changes and just went back to doing things manually.
Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
Author of the Guardians Saga (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels) -
Agreed. Developers know what users need and want better than the users themselves do, so the visual aspect of all interfaces should be based on FileMatrix[^]
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
LOL! You are right :)
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You should be happy, man... My users just give me an Excel spreadsheet and say "Make it kind of like that"... So I have to GUESS what they really want, and then find out six months after release that it wasn't how they wanted it, but they were too afraid to ask for changes and just went back to doing things manually.
Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
Author of the Guardians Saga (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels)I hear you Brother! I wrote an app that replaced a complex set of crosslinked spreadsheets with a simple set of User Fillable Forms that then processed everything and output them in a similar way as the old spreadsheet version. Only for it to be rejected because the user (in this case the MD) couldn't chop and change things as he went along like he could on the spreadsheet. Even after I showed him how simple that was to do he just refused to use it. Draw Circle, Hit Head Here!
------------------------------------ I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC League Table Link CCC Link[^]
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Bang on: how many times have I had to listen to a user drone on about the color of this and the size of that whilst totally ignoring what the app is supposed to do for them.
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me
digital man wrote:
Bang on: how many times have I had to listen to a user car-buyer drone on about the color of this and the size of that whilst totally ignoring what the app car is supposed to do for them.
digital man wrote:
Bang on: how many times have I had to listen to a user shopper drone on about the color of this and the size of that whilst totally ignoring what the app is clothes are supposed to do for them.
digital man wrote:
Bang on: how many times have I had to listen to a user furniture buyer drone on about the color of this and the size of that whilst totally ignoring what the app sofa is supposed to do for them.
Perspective fix applied.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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digital man wrote:
Bang on: how many times have I had to listen to a user car-buyer drone on about the color of this and the size of that whilst totally ignoring what the app car is supposed to do for them.
digital man wrote:
Bang on: how many times have I had to listen to a user shopper drone on about the color of this and the size of that whilst totally ignoring what the app is clothes are supposed to do for them.
digital man wrote:
Bang on: how many times have I had to listen to a user furniture buyer drone on about the color of this and the size of that whilst totally ignoring what the app sofa is supposed to do for them.
Perspective fix applied.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
:laugh:
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me
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I hear you Brother! I wrote an app that replaced a complex set of crosslinked spreadsheets with a simple set of User Fillable Forms that then processed everything and output them in a similar way as the old spreadsheet version. Only for it to be rejected because the user (in this case the MD) couldn't chop and change things as he went along like he could on the spreadsheet. Even after I showed him how simple that was to do he just refused to use it. Draw Circle, Hit Head Here!
------------------------------------ I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC League Table Link CCC Link[^]
Yeah, I've hit that kind of problem, mostly with editors... Excel really is very user-friendly, and gets the users hooked on doing everything in tabular form... Even if it really shouldn't be that way.
Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
Author of the Guardians Saga (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels) -
Your fantasies regarding appearance and functionality rarely align with the reality of implementation.
.45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly
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"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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"The staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - J. Jystad, 2001All users in all situations always want Excel. Try telling a user next time that he or she already has Excel installed when they ask for something stupid; it usually helps.
Need custom software developed? I do custom programming based primarily on MS tools with an emphasis on C# development and consulting. I also do Android Programming as I find it a refreshing break from the MS. "And they, since they Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs" -- Robert Frost
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All users in all situations always want Excel. Try telling a user next time that he or she already has Excel installed when they ask for something stupid; it usually helps.
Need custom software developed? I do custom programming based primarily on MS tools with an emphasis on C# development and consulting. I also do Android Programming as I find it a refreshing break from the MS. "And they, since they Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs" -- Robert Frost
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All users in all situations always want Excel. Try telling a user next time that he or she already has Excel installed when they ask for something stupid; it usually helps.
Need custom software developed? I do custom programming based primarily on MS tools with an emphasis on C# development and consulting. I also do Android Programming as I find it a refreshing break from the MS. "And they, since they Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs" -- Robert Frost
Ennis Ray Lynch, Jr. wrote:
All users in all situations always want Excel.
This is the law, indeed. A client once asked me to do all the aged receivables in a spreadsheet, but "do it so everybody can work on it at the same time". This was for a company that did its own hire purchase for heavy machinery, with thousands of contracts, all different, compound interest calculated daily on overdue payments, and lots of people who didn't like to pay. :wtf: I ended up giving them a SQLS/VB6 (this was pre .NET) solution. The only thing that really annoys me is that after the first three months I never once got a service call, and they are still using it now, over ten years later. :(
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Agreed. Developers know what users need and want better than the users themselves do, so the visual aspect of all interfaces should be based on FileMatrix[^]
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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Ennis Ray Lynch, Jr. wrote:
All users in all situations always want Excel.
This is the law, indeed. A client once asked me to do all the aged receivables in a spreadsheet, but "do it so everybody can work on it at the same time". This was for a company that did its own hire purchase for heavy machinery, with thousands of contracts, all different, compound interest calculated daily on overdue payments, and lots of people who didn't like to pay. :wtf: I ended up giving them a SQLS/VB6 (this was pre .NET) solution. The only thing that really annoys me is that after the first three months I never once got a service call, and they are still using it now, over ten years later. :(
Chris C-B wrote:
The only thing that really annoys me is that after the first three months I never once got a service call, and they are still using it now, over ten years later. :(
May be replaced with Excel X| :suss:
Yusuf May I help you?
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Chris C-B wrote:
The only thing that really annoys me is that after the first three months I never once got a service call, and they are still using it now, over ten years later. :(
May be replaced with Excel X| :suss:
Yusuf May I help you?
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Ennis Ray Lynch, Jr. wrote:
All users in all situations always want Excel.
This is the law, indeed. A client once asked me to do all the aged receivables in a spreadsheet, but "do it so everybody can work on it at the same time". This was for a company that did its own hire purchase for heavy machinery, with thousands of contracts, all different, compound interest calculated daily on overdue payments, and lots of people who didn't like to pay. :wtf: I ended up giving them a SQLS/VB6 (this was pre .NET) solution. The only thing that really annoys me is that after the first three months I never once got a service call, and they are still using it now, over ten years later. :(
Chris C-B wrote:
I ended up giving them a SQLS/VB6 (this was pre .NET) solution. The only thing that really annoys me is that after the first three months I never once got a service call, and they are still using it now, over ten years later. :(
I think writing an app so good that after a decade of use there're no bugs or support calls is something to be proud of. :cool:
3x12=36 2x12=24 1x12=12 0x12=18
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Chris C-B wrote:
I ended up giving them a SQLS/VB6 (this was pre .NET) solution. The only thing that really annoys me is that after the first three months I never once got a service call, and they are still using it now, over ten years later. :(
I think writing an app so good that after a decade of use there're no bugs or support calls is something to be proud of. :cool:
3x12=36 2x12=24 1x12=12 0x12=18
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Ennis Ray Lynch, Jr. wrote:
All users in all situations always want Excel.
This is the law, indeed. A client once asked me to do all the aged receivables in a spreadsheet, but "do it so everybody can work on it at the same time". This was for a company that did its own hire purchase for heavy machinery, with thousands of contracts, all different, compound interest calculated daily on overdue payments, and lots of people who didn't like to pay. :wtf: I ended up giving them a SQLS/VB6 (this was pre .NET) solution. The only thing that really annoys me is that after the first three months I never once got a service call, and they are still using it now, over ten years later. :(
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Your fantasies regarding appearance and functionality rarely align with the reality of implementation.
.45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly
-----
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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"The staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - J. Jystad, 2001I didn't realize you got a gig at Microsoft. :-D
Christopher Duncan
www.PracticalUSA.com
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes
Copywriting Services -
Agreed. Developers know what users need and want better than the users themselves do, so the visual aspect of all interfaces should be based on FileMatrix[^]
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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Thanks - but one teensy weensy little (billable) bug every few years would have helped my bottom line. :-\
Now you know the reason the lease/subscription/support model is so popular. I went broke in the 90s trying to survive off sales of our app alone, eventually bailed and the guy who owns it changed the model to support/lease.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
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They don't want to ruin only your eyes -- Alphaville? Britney Spears?! Celine Dion?!?
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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You should be happy, man... My users just give me an Excel spreadsheet and say "Make it kind of like that"... So I have to GUESS what they really want, and then find out six months after release that it wasn't how they wanted it, but they were too afraid to ask for changes and just went back to doing things manually.
Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
Author of the Guardians Saga (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels)There are servers all over the world that are littered with unused applications that were supposed to act like the spreadsheet. I developed about 4 of them (2 timecards, 1 inventory and a database cross reference) before I realized all they really wanted is to know how to change the color of a cell, or how to add the big flashy something or other to point at whatever it is they're looking for so they don't have to find it or figure out how to find it. Now I just set up the Excel workbook to do what they want. Becuase you folks are correct, they'll end up going back to the spreadsheet.
___________________________________ "It was broke, so I fixed it."