January 30th, 2007 Posted in Computer

Dancing Bearware

Been reading “Alan Cooper – The inmates are running the Asylum” for the Design in the Workplace unit at uni, it’s about software and interface development. The basic gist of the book is that programmers should not be allowed to design interfaces or dictate features. They design software for other geeks, not the mortals that make up 99% of the intended user base.

One particular phrase sticks in my mind – Dancing BearWare.

“Look, there’s a dancing bear!”

“Er, wow!”

“Come on guys, bears don’t have any moves!”

“Yes, but it’s a bear. Dancing!”

This is a flippant metaphor for complex, annoying software that you have to use out of necessity. Nobody really wants to use it, as it’s rubbish. But it’s a dancing bear. Impressive that it even works, but ultimately still crap.