Day 1 = Day 101

I’m really enjoying what Jensen Harris continues to share on his blog about the user experience of Office 2007. In one of his latest posts, he discusses the thoughts behind a software application that doesn’t degrade the more it’s used. In his illustration, he talks about the times he is on site visits with the active userbase of Office products and sees how they use the tool.

He admits that very seldomly does he ever see someone’s monitor display the office UI in it’s pristine state it appears in out of the box.

Jensen shares that one of the goals that’s been achieved with Office 2007 interface is that it looks the same on Day 1 as it will on Day 101.

I am curious though as to what levels of customization of the workspace there is in the new product. Granted that customization is the same cause for things not looking the same as on Day 1 for their software. However, I think that there is an area for customization that does need to be enabled and enjoyed.

Source: Designing Against a Degrading Experience

Check-out Jensen other recent posts:

Variations on a Theme by Office – Guest Writer: Howard Cooperstein
Naming Your Outlook Quick Flags