The big fight

Taking time off from work to write my blog...FYI…I have joined Yahoo! Software Development, Bangalore…

I don’t understand why people in offices use such short cuts…FYI, FYR, etc etc…

Anyways…while traveling back to my home I was watching some nice bungalows outside my bus…apart from wondering when will I own a similar one…I went back to my Architecture day and I had a passing thought about the connection of architecture with User Interface.

When I was into Architecture we had some arguments on which is better and who should do what…between Civil Engineers and Architects…what do an architect do and why can’t an engineer design a house/building…?? You want to answer that?? It has always been tough both for architects and engineers to win that argument…but obviously because the construction field is so well established that we are aware of each others capabilities…no one want to go to an engineer for designing a house…but would definitely consult him/her when it comes to actual construction.

Some what same tussle I find in software industry. Who should design a software?? Who is authority on users or UI?? The argument continues…

Let’s put the two together to bring out an example…suppose you want to buy a house and you went to a see a house…this new house is fire proof, highly secure, earthquake proof, KATRINA proof…columns can stand for next 100 years…rock solid foundation…its even BOMB proof…aircraft hit proof and what not…

BUT looks ugly…to open a window one needs to stand on a stool to open it and view it…has no ventilation…one has to bow down to go from a door…

So will you buy it…is engineering the only aspect of a product??? I guess its not so…designing for HUMANS is as important as its functionality…engineering alone can not ensure that the product is going to be USEABLE and hence USEFUL…

So designing is as much needed in software as engineering…hope ‘engineers’ realize the importance and give us (designers) a chance to be a part of it…