SIGforum.com    Main Page  Hop To Forum Categories  What's Your Deal!    Poor software design
Go
New
Find
Notify
Tools
Reply
  
Poor software design Login/Join 
Member
posted
I am the first to admit that I have some technology challenges. I also have poor visual attention to detail. Those things aside, I am rather frustrated with those individuals who design software I am required to use.

To take an example from today's news, a woman was subjected to grueling interviews after she mistakently checked a box indicating she had engaged in terrorist activities as well as genocide. This was some sort of Visa application. I would assume most aspiring terrorists would mark no, but somehow she nudged the mouse and it was incorrectly submitted.

Governmental websites are the worst when it comes to finding the information you need, not to mention being difficult to use. Is the problem that the software is designed on the subcontinent and exported?

Any answers? Any hope?
 
Posts: 17176 | Location: Stuck at home | Registered: January 02, 2015Reply With QuoteReport This Post
"The deals you miss don’t hurt you”-B.D. Raney Sr.
posted Hide Post
I have an answer for the .gov side of software design.
Poorly written scope of work, lowest bidder.
I work in maintenance at an army depot. Lowest bidder is one of the things killing us.
 
Posts: 6288 | Location: East Texas | Registered: February 20, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Unapologetic Old
School Curmudgeon
Picture of Lord Vaalic
posted Hide Post
Lowest bidder, lowest skill, designers with no concept of user friendly

I used to work for a German engineering company. The Germans kept making these ultra complicated screwy very user non friendly software screens for these machines. We would say you need to simplify this... They felt the problem was not that it was too complicated, it was just we were too stupid to learn it.




Don't weep for the stupid, or you will be crying all day
 
Posts: 10719 | Location: TN | Registered: December 18, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of jbcummings
posted Hide Post
Any sort of governmental is as stated lowest bidder plus poor requirements.

Other software may suffer the same for similar reasons. Instead of lowest bidder, I’ve found it’s often unrealistic expectations of the time required to bring a product to a stable, useable product. Timelines that are set by a management with no understanding of the complexity or scope of what needs to be done. Couple that with poorly documented requirements and, again, unrealistic assumptions about how the software will be used.


———-
Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for thou art crunchy and taste good with catsup.
 
Posts: 4306 | Location: DFW | Registered: May 21, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Crusty old
curmudgeon
Picture of Jimbo54
posted Hide Post
The Obama Care website comes to mind.


________________________

"If you can't be a good example, then you'll have to be a horrible warning" -Catherine Aird
 
Posts: 9791 | Location: The right side of Washington State | Registered: September 14, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
I work for a transit authority in Pennsylvania, we offer 18 month contracts to our vendors based on low bid, responsive and responsible bidders. We are extremely careful to write the contract specs exactly to our needs. Vendors meet those specs. The system works well. The purchased product is quite good. Both parties are happy.
 
Posts: 31 | Registered: December 15, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by hudr:
I have an answer for the .gov side of software design.
Poorly written scope of work, lowest bidder.
I work in maintenance at an army depot. Lowest bidder is one of the things killing us.


EVERY government website I've been on, absolutely sucks and takes 5 different pages and menus that any other website would take 1 page to get where you want to go.
 
Posts: 21335 | Registered: June 12, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
I have frequented retail sites selling guns and ammunition that are designed so poorly I just move on to another supplier. A nice clean layout of your products and easy checkout is all I ask. Amazon gets it right. Make it effortless to buy your product.
 
Posts: 17176 | Location: Stuck at home | Registered: January 02, 2015Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Oh stewardess,
I speak jive.
Picture of 46and2
posted Hide Post
I've designed, built, managed, deployed, and maintained a few hundred million bucks worth of government software contracts over the last 20ish years...

They're consistently over-promised, under-staffed, under-funded, and behind the 8Ball before they even start. Blame the assholes who sold it without dealing with these realities.

What's actually true is that it's astonishing anything works well at all, given these realities.

Hug your friendly neighborhood software developer, as they're never really the problem.
 
Posts: 25613 | Registered: March 12, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
  Powered by Social Strata  
 

SIGforum.com    Main Page  Hop To Forum Categories  What's Your Deal!    Poor software design

© SIGforum 2024