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Posted by John Pollard on March 6, 2008, 10:23 am
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Hank Arnold (MVP) wrote:
> John Pollard wrote:
>> Jeff wrote:
>>
>>> Thanks. I was also concerned that if 2008 had a radically
>>> different
>>> interface, it might take some getting used to and finding
>>> things....
>>
>> Just one persons observation: I have used (or worked with)
>> Q2000. Q2001. Q2002, Q2004, Q2005, Q2006, Q2007 and Q2008.
>>
>> I have never experienced any difficulty "getting used to" or
>> "finding things" during any of the changes from one of those
>> versions.
>>
>> During the same period of time, I have read posts from
>> several
>> users (almost guaranteed to be a fairly small percentage of
>> all
>> Quicken users) who have expressed a difficuly "getting used
>> to"
>> or "finding things" when they "upgraded".
>>
>> My observation is that those who experience difficulty
>> "finding
>> things" are usually basically lazy.
>>
>> My other observation is that those who have difficulty
>> "getting
>> used to" newer versions exhibit typical human behavior: a
>> response to change that varies from "foot dragging" to
>> anxiety,
>> fear and even anger at those who dared to introduce change
>> into
>> their lives.
>>
>> I think that new versions of software - like new versions of
>> any
>> product/service - are intended to introduce change. So I
>> assume
>> I should be prepared for that change. I am almost always
>> underwhelmed by the degree of that change in the case of my
>> software.
>>
>> I think it would be very difficult for a stranger in a
>> newsgroup
>> to provide you with the assurance you seem to be seeking.
>>
>> [Nothing personal intended.]
>>
>
> Is that what they call "tough love"? ;-)
>
> I don't know if I'd use terms as strong as yours, but I agree
> that for
> the most part, the problems are usually minor and relate to
> finding
> one or more features. I disagree, though, about there being a
> lack of
> radical change. It's not often, but in the past decade, there
> have
> been UI changes that set me back on my heels for a few minutes
> until I
> figured them out. For many of us, interface changes are
> something we
> deal with every day and it actually keeps things interesting.
> However,
> reality is that for many people, it's disturbing and upsetting
> to see
> changes that they see as having no value add and only reduce
> their
> productivity.
The main reason I replied was because of the subjectivity of the
"standard" for "getting used to" new software, and needing
"warnings" to prevent disappointment.
I'll give you one example; it is one of a great many, but it
clearly demonstrates my point that it's not likely that one can
give/get effective "warnings" about things like the impact of
the user interface on another user.
One poster in the Quicken Forums was in a rage (and I am not
exagerating) about the color scheme of one (at the time) newly
released version of Quicken. That person submitted several
angry posts denouncing the color scheme, then posted it was so
bad he was reverting to an older Quicken version. He continued
to bombard the forums with reminders that the terrible color
scheme had caused him to revert to an earlier version.
As I suggested, change itself can create negative feelings in
humans, and it's not possible to anticipate the specifics that
will create those feelings, nor which humans will be
meaningfully troubled by those negative feelings. I believe
that where there is change, regardless how minor, some people
will have negative feelings about the change, and there is no
way to to know ahead of time which changes will affect which
users negatively.
[Fortunately for those who tend to experience those problems,
Intuit has a 60 day money back guarantee, so there is really
very little need to worry about such things before seeing for
one's self.]
I certainly was not trying to say that all changes were of equal
value, or that all changes were positive.
--
John Pollard
First initial underscore Last name at mchsi dot com
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