23 Apr
2015
23 Apr
'15
1:37 p.m.
On 23.04.2015 12:01, Gianfranco Ceccolini wrote:
I think that the point that most of us are missing is
that, prior to
decide the features on a particular product (a software in the discussed
cases), one needs to decide THE TARGET AUDIENCE of such product.
There are cases where defining a target audience is possible and
beneficial, sure. Once you allow a small number of distinct audiences,
you get a little farther.
For some generic and/or complex products, things get messy fast. Just
think of possible audiences for Blender: game developers, hobby vertex
pushers, 3d printed bunny enthusiasts, product designers, professional
illustrators and 3d animation specialists (coffee logisticians,
modelers, texture artists, rigging and animation artists ...) ...
Even though you can expect conflicts and issues due to the sheer number
of features, Blender can work for all of them. Note however, than some
people think its unnecessarily strange and complicated, while others
think it's basically sliced bread for 3D.
Oustide of marketing, I think it's not that important if you can assume
your typical user to be Granny Smith, Tom Broman or little Susie. Truly
important are the tasks to be accomplished, the work environments and
the frequency and duration of use. Guess how the last 2 points relate to
the different impressions people have of Blender.
Aside of all that, every single user being human has limited memory, a
locus of attention easily pulled away by an important message ... or
just a distraction, is better at recognizing than recalling, forms
habits, is slowed down when having to consider options, ... and so on.
--
Thorsten Wilms
thorwil's design for free software:
http://thorwil.wordpress.com/