Phrases that, when used, reveal you to be a pretentious jackass
(March 18th, 2007 - 12:53PM)
"I was listening to Modest Mouse long before they became mainstream." No you weren't. Nobody listened to them before they were mainstream.
"You can do that in Linux." Maybe if you're a pretentious jackass.
"It's no Life of Brian." Life of Brian sucked. Monty Python generally sucked. Anyone who thinks Monty Python is genius is either pretentious or British, in which case they're pretentious by default.
"I'll have a venti double caramel macchiato." I've been going to Starbucks for a long time, and I've found that the caramel macchiato is the most pretentious drink they have.
"The book was better." No it wasn't. You're just saying that because you want to sound intelligent.
"Let me check my SHHedule." SCHEDULE.
Any sentence containing the word "hypothesize." Unless you're a scientist, you should never use the word "hypothesize," and if you are a scientist then you're probably pretentious already.
"I know what the user wants." No you don't. If you did, you wouldn't be calling them "the user" like they're some sort of abstract entity. And when I want to know what the user really wants, I'll ask the user.
"My company couldn't survive without me." Your company was getting along fine before you, and they'll get along fine after.
I didn't want to mention this right away, but I guess it's safe now. I've given my notice at Eloquent, and starting April 3rd, I'll be a UX Specialist at Vitrium. Eloquent is sad to have me go, and I'm sad to leave, but this is the next logical step.
It's going to be hard giving up the Lead Software Engineer mantle, but UX is the route I want to go, and that opportunity isn't available where I am now. Hopefully the experience gained there will translate well into content for my blog.
Ever heard of "User Experience?" Wondered what it is? What it isn't? Why it's important? I've done my best to outline the details below.
What is User Experience (UX)?
User Experience (UX) is an emerging field that's worth knowing about if you're a software engineer. However, UX isn't necessarily a form of programming. It can be much more.
UX is the process of making your users happy. This is a very broad goal and encompasses several areas, such as:
UX is different from other software jobs because it includes areas that are not typically considered part of the development process. For example, technical support is usually considered a separate task from software development. UX acknowledges that the two are intimately connected. Great software is not enough. If your support is horrible, you could still have dissatisfied users. Software engineers aren't concerned with this aspect of the product, but UX specialists are.
What isn't User Experience (UX)?
UX is not anything new. It's just an accumulation of existing techniques. It's different because it acknowledges that many areas of delivering a product - areas that were previously considered unrelated - are actually very intimately connected. But that being said, UX does not introduce any new ideas to the mix. It just combines the old into a single unit.
Also, UX is not a form of engineering. It's too broad and new to be considered an engineering discipline. But that doesn't undermine its importance, and it could one day be considered an engineering discipline.
Why is User Experience (UX) important?
UX is important because it ties together all the aspects of your company. No longer are marketing, engineering, and support considered separate. UX acknowledges that these processes are all tied together, and it takes more than a good engineering process to satisfy clients. A UX specialist can concoct ways of streamlining the client's entire experience, from the initial sale to development to delivery, and even to support.
UX may be most important because it finally illustrates the importance of good support. In the past, support was considered a beast of burden that software engineers have offloaded onto the underqualified. But UX acknowledges that technical support is just as important for the user as the actual software itself.
I've been tied up with work, school, the gym, and other things. I've been having blog guilt for not updating. Here's an update. I've got a lot to say and I'll be adding more soon.
