Effective UI

Chapter 1. Building an Effective UI

Just as a finished software product never looks anything like the original plans and expectations for it, writing this book carried us in a surprising but interestingly different direction than we’d originally assumed. When you imagine what it might take to succeed at building an effective user interface (UI) built with a modern standard of user experience (UX) quality, you might think of high-end design, innovation and inspiration, and technical best practices. These are certainly all important components, but our experience helping other businesses build great products has shown us that a team’s ability to deliver on the promise of good UX is only partially dependent on its creativity and technical competency. The rest depends on creating the right climate for the team and within the company that allows the team to be effective and helps success come more reliably and easily.

Too many people have endured the pain of participating in the building of a software product in a bad climate—so many, in fact, that most are resigned to the belief that building software is an inherently difficult and disappointing undertaking. Whether you’re a business leader who’s frustrated at the frequency with which software projects disappoint or fail, or you’re a software professional who feels like execs just don’t “get it,” or that your stakeholders are their own ...