An Industry in Denial

We are a world awash in high-tech tools. Computers dominate the workplace and our homes, and vehicles are filling up with silicon-powered gadgets. All of these computerized devices are wildly sophisticated and powerful, but every one of them is dauntingly difficult and confusing to use.

The high-tech industry is in denial of a simple fact that every person with a cell phone or a word processor can clearly see: Our computerized tools are too hard to use. The technologists who create software and high-tech gadgets are satisfied with their efforts. The software engineers^[1] who create them have tried as hard as they can to make them easy to use, and they have made some minor progress. They believe that their products are as easy to use as it is technically possible to make them. As engineers, their belief is in technology, and they have faith that only some new technology, such as voice recognition or artificial intelligence, will improve the user's experience.

^[1] Throughout the computer industry, the term "software engineer" is used synonymously with the term "programmer"; throughout this book, I have done the same.

Ironically, the thing that will likely make the least improvement in the ease of use of software-based products is new technology. There is little difference technically between a complicated, confusing program and a simple, fun, and powerful product. The problem is one of culture, training, and attitude of the people who make them, more than it is one of chips and programming languages. We are deficient in our development process, not in our development tools.

The high-tech industry has inadvertently put programmers and engineers in charge, so their hard-to-use engineering culture dominates. Despite appearances, business executives are simply not the ones in control of the high-tech industry. It is the engineers who are running the show. In our rush to accept the many benefits of the silicon chip, we have abdicated our responsibilities. We have let the inmates run the asylum.

When the inmates run the asylum, it is hard for them to see clearly the nature of the problems that bedevil them. When you look in the mirror, it is all too easy to single out your best features and overlook the warts. When the creators of software-based products examine their handiwork, they overlook how bad it is. Instead, they see its awesome power and flexibility. They see how rich the product is in features and functions. They ignore how excruciatingly difficult it is to use, how many mind-numbing hours it takes to learn, or how it diminishes and degrades the people who must use it in their everyday lives.