Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site taurus.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!floyd!vax135!ukc!root44!taurus!mike
From: mike@taurus.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.cog-eng
Subject: Re: expert-friendly
Message-ID: <83@taurus.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 20-Oct-83 09:22:24 EDT
Article-I.D.: taurus.83
Posted: Thu Oct 20 09:22:24 1983
Date-Received: Sun, 16-Oct-83 09:55:56 EDT
References: <1986@rabbit.UUCP> <432@nsc.uucp>
Organization: Taurus Technology Ltd, London
Lines: 25

Oh boy, do I agree. You ever notice on those systems that have legal
full- and abbreviated-command names how many people actually use the full
name? None - of course! They can't be bothered with all that typing.
All this garbage about menus helping people is simply
and excuse to not bother teaching 'em how to use the system in the first place.

Our assistant spent three days typing half our mailing list into a so-called
user friendly menu system. We fixed to accept the addresses like this:

name;+companyname;address;moreaddress;...;=telephonenumber

with semicolon separated fields. Result? She got the rest done in a
SINGLE AFTERNOON!! The moral is - spend ten minutes learning the system, then
use it. If you pile in straight away with a learn-as-you-go system, it's
going to get in your way half an hour later, and keep slowing you down from
then on.

There aren't many systems that can go slow, and help, while you learn,
then get out of the way when you know what you're doing.
How about some of you guys out there designing some systems that do?
-- 

Mike Banahan
{ENGLAND}!ukc!root44!taurus!mike