Microsoft’s PR machine has been working the press into a frenzy over the new Office user interface. It seems that after running out of narcolepsy-inducing features to shovel into the product, they’ve arrived at the realization that usability actually might matter to a couple folks. (And just when Mom and Dad were getting used to navigating 5-deep hierarchical menus, too!)
This is good news. Well, at least until you see it. When you see it, it’s likely to make you cry with the worst kind of screen overload (shades of FFXI), meaninglessly non-uniform button sizes, and totally random placement of key items. But, don’t let that stop you from basking in what it could have been for a few more moments. Heck, have a look at the UI-lead’s presentation of the interface — she makes it seem almost thoughtful. And they certainly have done their usability work. So what the hell happened?
Perhaps what happened can be encapsulated in a classic Steve Jobs quote: “The trouble with Microsoft is they have no taste. They have no taste and I don’t mean that in a small way, I mean that in a big way.” (totn) Dysgeusia, taste deficit disorder. All the usability in the world can’t save you if you can’t come up with creative new ideas, and Microsoft’s dyed-in engineer culture fights that tooth-and-nail. Tight code and cool hacks, yes. Innovation? Not so much.
If you like torture, have a flip through more shots of the Office 12 UI and check out proof that MS can still do nauseating feature comparisons with the best of ‘em.
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Ok, it doesn’t LOOK particularly nice, but it is a bit unfair to rant away without actually having used it! I’ve encountered plenty of UI that looked hard/unusable/etc. but was surprisingly easy to use once you tried it out….
Indeed. Don’t you just hate that? Like reviewing a movie based on the trailer, innit? ;-)
Surely this assessment is an incomplete one but it is based on seeing a detailed demo with low-res display along with bunches of high-res screen shots (that appeared just yesterday). I also showed a few of those screens to a naive user (the target audience) who found the UI fairly overwhelming.
Regardless, I really did mean it when I said that this stronger focus on UI is a good thing and I agree the proof is in the pudding. I will certainly try out the final version and I’m happy to eat my words if the change is a positive one. I’m just not particularly holding my breath.