markd@salmon.rtech.com (Mark P. Diamond) (09/02/89)
> > Bad assumption. Not all users are stupid, but some really are - I seem > to remember a bug report at Sun for which the fix was "you know that > black thing coming out of the back of your machine? Try plugging it > into the socket on the wall." If you have to design a system for people > who can't even figure out that they have to plug a system into the wall, > you'll go nuts - I've seen few if any appliances for which the design or > the documentation goes *that* far. > I'm sorry I have to disagree. If someone has all the information at hand, and knows as much about the system as you do, and fails to make the same connections that you do, well then yes, some might call that stupid. All of us have run into people who we believed were stupid. But those are poor assumptions to make. Using your example, if this is my first time using a computer, how do I know that the power comes from the outlet, and not say the bridge lines, cabling or other wires? Obvious? My telephone doesn't have an AC plug. I should know better if I am using a computer? Should "technical literacy tests" be administered so that only those who we deem good enough be allowed to use a computer? What I am really arguing against is the arrogance of engineers who can't design real systems for real people to use, and the arrogance of service people who believe their time too precious to waste on "stupid" people. Maybe, just maybe the system you designed Mr. Engineer isn't as easy to use or install or fix or whatever as you think. Don't pass the buck onto me for being stupid. Or worse, if I the user haven't mentally put all the pieces together, if I'm having a bad day and my boss is pushing me to get this system online and I run into what I think is a problem, and I call you Mr. Field Sevice Person, don't treat me like an idiot. Help me solve our problem. Mark <> -- Mark P. Diamond {amdahl, cpsc6a, mtxinu, sun, hoptoad}!rtech!markd markd@rtech.com Mark P. Diamond {sequent,mtxinu,sun,hoptoad}!rtech!markd markd@rtech.com Ready? Fire! Aim!
psrc@pegasus.ATT.COM (Paul S. R. Chisholm) (09/14/89)
Somebody (I'm quoting another article, and the original attribution is lost) wrote: > Bad assumption. Not all users are stupid, but some really are - I seem > to remember a bug report at Sun for which the fix was "you know that > black thing coming out of the back of your machine? Try plugging it > into the socket on the wall." I've written a couple of administrator's guides (as well as the software they were documenting). I always tried to write them such that field support (and I!) would get a minimal number of calls. (One product is *just* out, and only to two customers. The other has been out for a year, has sold a few copies, and I've been able to answer at least one call with, "The answer to your question is on page 5-23, namely . . .") In fact, the chapter of the latter product labeled "Troubleshooting -- first steps" begins, "Start troubleshooting <product> the same way you would troubleshoot a washing machine: make sure everything's plugged in!" I then told the administrator which file listed the lines to check. For what it's worth, I think the software developer should bear a lot of responsibility for helping to troubleshoot user problems. That means sanity checking, it means some sort of debugging flag in the *final* product (Uutry -x<level> is my favorite example), it means some sort of message that the user can at least quote to field support (and preferably, messages that tell the user the *real* problem!), etc. It's also very useful to list and review all of the error messages, so the documentor include them in the manual, and ask, "What does this *really* mean?" That last question is an important one to ask any time you have an error message. IMHO, helping the user handle weird stuff is one of the things that differentiates "programming" from "software engineering". Paul S. R. Chisholm, AT&T Bell Laboratories att!pegasus!psrc, psrc@pegasus.att.com, AT&T Mail !psrchisholm I'm not speaking for the company, I'm just speaking my mind.