Extreme Simplicity

_Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to remove.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Such a simple statement; yet one of such power. This statement carries a new impact as the concept of “Extreme Simplicity” gains ground. The idea is that instead of focusing on adding more features (Microsoft), do a few things, and do them very well (Apple).

This is a great concept, focus on the user, focus on what the user spends most of their time doing and keep all the rest out-of-the-way. I’ll be the first to admit, I’m addicted to gold plating. If I think it’s cool, I’ll add it, which is most certainly at conflict with this concept. This is one area were the two goals leave me quite torn, giving the user every feature possible versus a simple – even minimalistic interface.

All things considered though, this is where things are going. Simple, intuitive designs sell; it’s that simple. People expect technology of any form to fit in their lives, as simply as if it wasn’t even there. By building around the core of what the user does and minimizing fluff to enhance the user experience, you’re giving the end users what they want.

As written by Andreas Pfeiffer, here are the 10 fundamental rules of Extreme Simplicity:

More features isn’t better, it’s worse.
You can’t make things easier by adding to them.
Confusion is the ultimate deal-breaker.
Style matters.
Only features that provide a good user experience will be used.
Any feature that requires learning will only be adopted by a small fraction of users.
Unused features are not only useless, they can slow you down and diminish ease of use.
Users do not want to think about technology: what really counts is what it does for them.
Forget about the killer feature. Welcome to the age of the killer user-experience.
Less is difficult, that’s why less is more.

We all know that users don’t want to think; this design philosophy further refines the concept and simplifies it to the point that it can be applied to almost any form of technology. By designing with a goal of maximizing simplicity, you create software that fits in the users’ life, instead of fitting them into your product.

If you want your product to sell, find a way (though difficult it may be) for your product to be both indispensable and unobtrusive.

Adam Caudill

What It Takes To Be A Great Developer

Recently a programmer I know decided that it was time for a career change, leaving the IT field entirely. This gave me cause to think; what does it take to be a great developer. Many people go through school believing they have what it takes, only to receive a rude awaking once they enter the real world. Before I go on, I think it’s important to define what I mean by developer, and the differences between a developer and a programmer.

VB: The dumbing of a Great Language

Visual Basic is at an interesting crossroads, it’s at a critical juncture between two paths. One path, it has followed since its earliest days, where simplicity and ease of use ruled over maintainability and solid design. The other, the longer, harder road, is that of design over ease. With the release of Visual Basic .NET, a major shift occurred in the direction the language is taking, though looking back now, nearly 5 years later, I’m finding myself concerned for the future of the language.

On Productivity

Productivity and efficiency have been passions of mine from a young age, I’m not sure why, but achieving as much as possible, as quickly and efficiently as possible has always driven much of my thoughts, actions, and plans. I was around 10 years old when I learned that there were people that specialised in worker productivity, which led me to researching process design, why restaurants are setup the way they are, the psychology of work and motivation, and a variety of other related topics.

Blog Traffic: Another View

There are hundreds of guides on how to get more traffic directed to your blog, and most are wrong. Seth Godin recently posted on this topic, and I have to disagree with most of his points. While there are a few basically good ideas, there are many more that I just don’t see holding up. Here’s what I look for in the blogs I visit: Writer is an expert in the field.

The Pressure to Be Great

I’m a developer, and I love what I do, it’s a great industry, and a very exciting field to be in. If you read my blog often, you’ll see I take every opportunity to mention how great this line of work can be, today I offer a somewhat different, less sugar-coated view. The Pressure There is a constant pressure on developers to be better, to do more, to produce more, sometimes more than is possible.