This talk was given to the Boston Voice Users Group on April 10, 2007.
Why your Programs don’t Work
Computers are Complex
There are seven functional layers between you and the chip. (See the OSI model)
Each layer has multiple companies.
These companies compete with each other and communicate imperfectly.
These companies are changing their technologies as fast as they can.
No two PCs have exactly the same set of hardware and software.
All PCs are changing constantly due to the use of their applications and due to upgrades.
Computers double their processing power every 18 months. This leads to more complex programs.
The latest growing consensus in the industry is that no one knows what is going on in your PC.
It’s too complex. It’s changing too fast.
Products are Shipped before they are Finished
The market rewards the first product to ship, not the best product.
Products regularly are shipped without being fully tested or having their known bugs fixed.
The latest trend is the never-ending-Beta. Where bugs are never fixed.
Humans are not Perfect
Because the technologies are changing, programmers are learning new stuff constantly.
The corrlary is that while we are coding your program, we don’t know what we are doing.
The best programmer I know states that he is clueless 30% of the time.
Some programmers, product managers, and CEOs just aren’t too good
User Interfaces are Rarely Designed.
They just grow.
No one uses the results of human factors studies.
No one considers accessibility.
User interfaces often aren’t even discussed in design meetings.
The Result of all this
My current commercial project is pure experiment 90% of the time.
I’ve never used the technology we’re using. That technology is evolving as we use it.
And my client says that I’m the best he could get at this time.
“You need clothes for Summer and clothes for Winter. Have a coping strategy.” Don Nicklas
1 Use the Scientific Method
Reduce your immediate problem to its simplest element, e.g. “to push a button”
Try simple experiments to determine how to solve that simplest element.
Record your successes in a Lab Book, or Cheat Sheet.
For those of you with RSIs and who find writing difficult,
Don Nicklas has created a little DNS advance scripting macro for taking notes on a computer. Learn more about the notetaking macro on this page.
2 Practice Safe Computing 1 – Avoid Version 1.0 and Upgrades
Never install Version 1.0 unless you have no other option.
Don’t be an early adopter unless you are ready to be a problem solver big-time.
Watch the eMail lists and online forums until the early adopters say a release is ok.
Newer stuff is buggier than older stuff.
Avoid upgrades. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
You want stability.
3 Practice Safe Computing 2 – Use Defaults
Always install to the default location.
Always install the Common options, not the Custom options.
These are all that the developer tests.
4 Use Common Tools
More Web stuff works with Internet Explorer than any other browser.
5 R T F M - Know your Options
If you don’t read the manuals, don’t complain.
Read the online help.
Write your own Cheat Sheets.
Learn more about the notetaking macro on this page.
6 Get Help
Don is adding more Dragon and voice Forums to the BVUG Web site. See this page of Web resource links to learn about these forums and more.
Ask questions at BVUG meetings.
Email your Dragon-user friends.
Email tech support for the product you’re having problems with.
7 Use the Voice Mouse
This is a major workaround tool in Dragon. Remember there are three ways to position the mouse by voice:
"MouseGrid" and "MouseGrid window" can position the mouse relative to the screen or to a window;"move mouse up(down left or right)" or "drag mouse up(down left or right)" will start the mouse moving from its current position on the screen;"mouse up(down left or right) x" will reposition the mouse x number of pixels.
8 Use Keyboard Alternatives
To press a button, use Tab + Enter
or use the documented shortcut keys instead of speaking the text on the button.
9 Check the Focus
Make sure that the focus is where you think it is.
Make sure that the insertion point (blinking carat) is where you want it to be.
Caveat. The focus may not be displayed by your browser, or your browser settings, or that Web page.
Caveat. On some forms, a blinking cursor or carat does not mean the edit field actually has focus.
If the text doesn’t appear when you are dictating, move the mouse over the field and click.
10 Change Dragon Modes
Use Command Mode, Spell Mode, Dictation Mode, Normal Mode.
About the Speaker
John Bannick has coded and shipped twenty-one commercial software products.
He is an expert in user interfaces, including internationalization.
He is the Chief Technology Officer for 7-128 Software.
This page last modified 4/25/2007.
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