New and … worsened

We recently got a new computer system at work.  After a couple of weeks, I’d say there are five or six things the new system does better than the old.  For example, in the old system if a certain situation came up, there was no way to fix it.  You basically had to void everything and start over.  But in the new system, there’s a button that will fix it.  Well, I think it would fix it.  This situation only happens every three or four months, and hasn’t happened yet with the new system.  But one night when I was fixing a related issue, this drop-down menu showed up, and as I read through the options, I realized that the solution they had for the related issue should also fix the problem that comes up every three or four months. 

Other situations are only “technically” better.  Like, this other issue that comes up four or five times a shift, in the old system we basically just had to go back a step and start over.  Easy to understand, but it took maybe an extra fifteen seconds.  In the new system, the problem can be fixed in like five seconds.  But the way to do it is … odd.  Basically, this one problem is a screw, while there is this other, related problem that is a nail.  There is a hammer subroutine that takes care of the nail problem, but instead of making a screwdriver subroutine for the screw problem, they just used the hammer.  Technically it works, but every time it happens, I can’t help but wonder if the system could have been designed better. 

It’s been a couple decades since I’ve done any programming, but I bet if I sat down with someone who knows how to code, we could come up with a very user-friendly system in like a day.  When I say user-friendly, I mean whenever an issue came up, there would be a clear, logical way to solve it.  Like, options would show up on the screen and you could pick which one best suited the situation.  Instead of having to remember that whenever Problem X happens, you follow Steps 9-12 in Appendix Q.  Admittedly, there were issues like that with the old system, but it was probably designed 20+ years ago when computers were far less capable.  You’d think better computers with more memory should make things run smoother.

All this got me wondering, Why do so many businesses find it difficult making good user interfaces?  Like, I remember years ago, there was an email service that made a big deal for their new layout.  And I looked around it, and was like, That’s nice you have a hundred bells and whistles I’ll never use, can I just check my email?  And after I checked my email, I went to sign out, but the Sign Out button was gone.  It used to be right at the top of the screen, but now, there was nothing.  It was almost by accident I discovered that when you clicked on the, I don’t know, Settings button, there was a drop-down menu with Sign Out as one option.  Why did they hide something so important?  I don’t know.  Maybe having this big button right out in the open threw off the aesthetics. 

The real problem, is I’m pretty sure the people who designed this system at work never used it.  Or if they did, it was for five minutes showing off the various capabilities to some corporate schmuck who also never had to use the system for a shift.  They’ve never had to use it in a real setting.  For example, in one of the ways the new system is worse, is selecting an operation.  Basically, about 49% of all interactions in a shift involve Operation A, 49% are Operation B, and the other 2% are for Operations C, D, E, F, etc.  The old system defaulted to A, but you only had to hit one button to get to B, C, D, etc.  In the new system, you have to hit a button for A, and two buttons for B because the first button calls up a drop-down menu that also has Operations C and D.  I know that doesn’t sound like much, but when you do hundreds of operations a shift it adds up.  Especially since for the old system the buttons were on a keyboard that was at a comfortable height and angle, whereas the new system is a higher, vertical touchscreen that has other stuff around it so it can’t be adjusted.  I’m wondering if lifting my arms to hit the screen so much is bothering my shoulders.  (I’ve also been splitting firewood, so it’s hard to say what’s causing issues.)

I know corporations are all about making short term profit, but surely somebody, somewhere up the corporate ladder has to understand that going with the lowest bidder can save you money upfront, but you may end up paying more in the long run.  Of course, such thinking is probably only for the people on the bottom who actually have to work for a living.