Re: Completely intuitive software

Subject: Re: Completely intuitive software
From: Christine Pellar-Kosbar <chrispk -at- MERIT -dot- EDU>
Date: Mon, 7 Jun 1999 18:06:26 -0400

Hi,
jim grey said:

> The word intuitive is so easily tossed about as a desirable software
> attribute. But I don't think anything about software is intuitive. Instead,
> I think that usage *seems* intuitive if it's like other software usage you've
> learned before.

I've heard this a few times now, and I disagree. In my opinion, "intuitive"
really means easy-to-use and that usually means menus and wysiwyg. I am now
(temporarily) doing documentation in vi (yep, vi). As I struggle to remember the
strings of symbols that make a function happen, I often think about how truly
wonderful menus are. Yes, new software that is familiar, similar to old software,
is easier to learn. But there are a lot of things you can do to unfamiliar new
software that would make it easy to learn.

my 2 cents,
Christine Pellar-Kosbar
Technical Writer
Merit Network, Inc.


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