When designing software, the first step is usually to write down the functional requirements, specifying what the software should do. This is done by talking to the client at length, breaking up the general idea into small workable pieces. After the requirements are approved by the client, the software engineer goes back to his office and gets to work.

The software engineer will start by creating what we’ll call the high level design. It describes the software modules which will solve the client’s problem, the interaction between these modules and usually a database layout. Often the client is not interested in this design, because he lacks the knowledge of software development to see if the given design meets all requirements.

In more complex projects, a detailed design will then be created. A design which contains more specific information about the techniques which are going to be used, like the .NET framework, JAVA or other languages. Also business rules are written down in detail here and the software development is divided in several separate modules to enable parallel development. The detailed design sometimes also contains some user interface sketches. Most of the time the user interface is not discussed with the client.

At some point, a first version of the software is tested and presented to the customer for feedback. Although some of the feedback is related to functionality, most of it is usually about the user interface. After a few rounds of modifying, testing and more feedback, we get to the first production release.

In the final product, all functionality is present, and the user interface is useable. Although the client has had time to test the user interface, after a while he will notice that some operations require to much steps to perform. These things usually show up only after extensive use, but they can be a major annoyance. The problem here is that the software developer has only limited knowledge of how the software is going to be used.

Problem: the user interface has not been designed with care!

The importance of the user interface is often neglected. But why? It is the only connection of the user to the great piece of software that has been created! The software can be fabulous, bug-free and cutting-edge but if the user interface does not work for the intended audience, it will not be used. A good user interface is often confused with nice graphics, or an easy learning curve. In most cases, they’re solid advice, but they’re not suited for everyone.  As an example we can take the unix commandline. Although not suited for casual users, system administrators who know how to use it can use it very efficiently. A mouse driven menu system would only get in the way. OS X on the other hand, has a great mouse-driven interface, and is very much used by graphic designers and desktop users. One thing they get right is consistency, making sure the same functionality is in the same place at all times.

So think about it. What can be improved in most software companies. Not the knowledge of technologies, neither the quality of the software, but the interface. Think from the user who is going to use the software. Do not think: ‘how can I implement this requirement’, but ‘how does the user want to do this’. Then use the latest user interface techniques for your software and do not forget things like:

• Consistency, don’t confuse people;
• Keyboard only navigation;
• Drag-and-drop possibilities;
• Use color to focus on the important things;
• Draw attention when something happens;
• Disable buttons that can’t be used, don’t hide them (see point 1).

I am sure your clients will be happier!