J3/MV/ALL.

A REAL LIFE CASE STUDY IN GUI's n' MENUS DEVELOPMENT.

ok looks like pg user base largely wants redesign // ease of use re gui's n' menus.
and I'm sure given the number of user comments on this topic…pg have been aware of the need for many many moons.

BUT NOBODY HAS SHOWN IN DETAIL VIA GUI/MENU GRAPHICS EXAMPLES HOW A HAPPY USER BASE COULD BE ACHIEVED !

SO…let's look at a real life case study I was once involved with.
and maybe pg users might comment as to whether this approach might keep pg users happy.
(cept there is a 'wrinkle' to come….lol)

A..SCENARIO.

I worked once for a large organisation with a v big user base….and the system development dept was bombarded nearly daily with criticism from users…tons of stress.
the techs were very talented n' professional n' inventive but the core legacy systems were developed yonks ago in a previous era.. in summary lots of old code…ring a bell ?

B. WHAT WE DID.

to reduce the daily stress on the systems dept/techs we made everything 'user centric.'
we set up 'user focus groups' n' 'roundtables' etc etc with the objective of the user groups providing to us a spec (signed off) of how THEY WANTED the new gui's n' menus to behave.
now to the 'wrinkle'...lmao.
ONLY PROBLEM WAS…
it was like a 'battle royal' had broken out cos the various user groups COULD'NT
AGREE. the only plus was less stress on the techs.
we even suggested flexibile 're-configurability' but the problem was some people took the attitude 'my way or the highway'. ….even snr user mgt was a problem and couldnt agree.
(office politics everywhere.)....just human nature.

perhaps the above gives people a flavor of the fact that when it comes to user needs often tech groups/coders are in a 'no win' situation cos the different user groups can't agree amongst themselves.

in conclusion the only suggestion i can make is to create a pg user group that submits a new finalised design for flexible GUI's//MENUS. (maybe user configurable ? like some companies have tried…).
BUT i guarantee even if today such a finalised user spec was agreed…in a few years future new users will complain about something…cos its the nature of the beast….lol.

peace out n' happiness to all.

om

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