RE: Rant... please let me help you fix the user interface

[Grant Robertson <grantsr -at- gmail -dot- com>]

> From: Mike Starr
> So how do I sell the concept that making the text and button 
> labels easier to understand and fixing the appearance of 
> things not only makes the product easier for the customer to 
> understand and reduces the number of support calls but also 
> makes it easier to sell the product, too??

Hi, I'm new here, but let me give you the other side of the story. If
you change all of the button and label names (even to make them more
clear) then they will have a flood of tech support calls because the
users are used to the old names. Especially with niche market
software, it has been my experience that these user's don't care about
the names of things being clear. They rarely understand what the names
realy mean even if they are clear. All these users do is memorize that
they have to click on the button that says "ThusAndSuch" before they
choose the menu item that says "SoAndSo." Sometimes they imagine they
understand what they are doing based on some mythology they have built
up from the poorly named buttons. If you change the button names then
they get confused. It may sound negative and fatalistic but it is
true. I have seen it many, many times over the years.

Your best bet is to wait till a major upgrade of the software. Then
all the new names will sound like entirely new or updated features and
the users will be more accepting. But you should start selling this
idea now and convince the marketing people that it will sell more
software for less programmer hours. Then you will get the changes you
desire.

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