Re: Software Bugs and Complexity

[Damien Braniff <dbraniff -at- iss-dsp -dot- com>]

Is this not, at least in part, down to the attempt to design software that is
all things to all people? I know lots of people who use Word and use only a
fraction of the features. However, for what they're using it for the is ALL THEY
NEED so they're happy to ignore the rest.  A good example is the recent post
about SnagIt - not a fancy program that's all singing and dancing but one
designed for a specific purpose and everyone loves it.

One place I worked had a huge user manual and people just didn't use it - it
scared them.  When we looked at who was administering the system we found that
90% of what people did could fit into a 12 page booklet. This became the user
manual, the larger manual became a reference manual and everyone was happy!

Damien
--
Damien Braniff
Technical Author
Integrated Silicon Systems Ltd.              Tel:  +44 28 90 50 4000
50 Malone Road                                      Fax:  +44 28 90 50 4001
Belfast  BT9 5BS                                    Web: www.issdsp.com



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