Hard to Revise a UI?

[Nancy Allison]

Thank you, everyone, for these great responses! They are exactly what I 
need, and I especially appreciate the explanations about modular 
software and workflow.

If you can ever think of particular software examples, please let me 
know. I have one doozy to relate: an interface that practically begged 
the user to enter a command that rammed a $200 laboratory-grade plastic 
robotic supper hand into the bench, snapping off the point and 
incapacitating the entire system!

In that case, I was able to bully the engineer into removing that 
command from the UI, but that was unusual. And, it was done purely on a 
personal basis; there was no method in that company for raising such an 
issue through channels. Madness!

I'll look into the names you mention, (esp. Cooper. I read his "The 
Inmates are Running the Asylum.") I always wonder where writers like 
Cooper get their great examples, and I'm always trying to collect my own.

A final question. Is it really burdensome to change the wording in a UI? 
If a prompt is vaguely worded, or if something is misspelled, is it very 
hard for a developer to correct it? I was once told that a change I 
proposed would be "too expensive." It involved changing the wording in a 
single popup box, and it would have made a huge difference to the 
usability of the UI.

Is it really that hard to change a text string? (I think I know the 
answer . . . .)

Thanks again!

--Nancy