iceberg secret

Joel Spolsky says some useful things about making web-based systems for paying clients:

The Iceberg Secret, Revealed [Joel on Software]

...most software is like [an iceberg] -- there's a pretty user interface that takes about 10% of the work, and then 90% of the programming work is under the covers. ... That's not the secret. The secret is that People Who Aren't Programmers Do Not Understand This.

Corollary: If you show a nonprogrammer a screen which has a user interface that is 90% worse, they will think that the program is 90% worse.

Corollary: If you show a nonprogrammer a screen which has a user interface which is 100% beautiful, they will think the program is almost done.

Understand that any demos you do in a darkened room with a projector are going to be all about pixels. If you can, build your UI in such a way that unfinished parts look unfinished.

The ensuing discussion has plenty of gems too:

[Jeff Porten] Whenever possible, GET YOUR CUSTOMERS USING YOUR SOFTWARE WHEN THE FEATURE SET IS SMALL. ... Make them wait until it's 100% done, and they'll be annoyed by the wait, and then take for granted everything you've done. But put them live when you're at 30%, and every step of the way to 100% will seem miraculous.

[Brian Curtis] ...you know as well as I do that there's a lot more to UI design than just "prettying up the pixels." ... What makes you think the design is something you can fix up in a day? ... coming up with a good, intuitive, USABLE interface design involves a lot more work and effort than just tossing some pretty pixels on the screen.

[Ted Boren] ...on another level customers know EXACTLY what they want. They want their work to get accomplished and they know their work far better than you or I. It would be a fatal mistake to assume that you have little to learn from customers just because you can't trust what they say about design & technology.

Good stuff.  

 disney

Overkill, thy name is Disney:

Disney resurrects classic cartoons [CNN]

Peter Pan is back in theaters with the sequel "Return to Never Land,"...
Next year, "The Jungle Book II" will hit theaters...
"Dumbo II"...
"Cinderella II: Dreams Come True,"
"Atlantis: The Lost Empire II" and
"The Hunchback of Notre Dame II." [!!??!]

Top sellers already include "Lady & the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure," "The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea" and "The Lion King II: Simba's Pride." ... [and] "The Enchanted Christmas." [Beauty and the Beast]

Hunchback was pretty much a travesty the first time; they want to make a sequel?