In My Way

A SoftwareUsability metric--how much is it InMyWay, as opposed to OnMySide?

Software that is hard to use, for one of the following reasons:

• Too many features(CreepingFeaturitis).
• Incoherent feature set(a program that lets you read your e-mail, provides a shell buffer, acts as an image editor, and sports system-wide speech recognition, for instance).
• Flashy/Useless user interface elements. Splash screens get in my way, button images that don't make sense are misleading, and dancing paperclips are right out. Filling up a screen is likewise kiboshed.
• Gross lack of speed.
• Instability.

Software that gets InMyWay includes MicrosoftOffice, MicrosoftWindows, and the MozillaBrowser.

Any program that works more slowly than I do is InMyWay. If it takes more time to figure out how to do something than to do it, I don't want anything to do with it.

--JoeOsborn

This page also works nicely if you replace "Software" with "Programming Language" throughout. -- FalkBruegmann

Amen to that. --JoeOsborn

So which ProgrammingLanguage has none of the above? i.e.:

• Just the right number of features
• Coherent feature set
• Nothing flashy or gratuitous
• Performance
• Stability

Not starting a LanguageWar?, just asking!