4 Performance and usability
A better performing software product is one that saves time for the user. Time is a precious resource for many computer users and much time is wasted on software that is slow, difficult to use, incompatible or error prone. All these problems are usability issues, and I believe that software performance should be seen in the broader perspective of usability.
This is not a manual on usability, but I think that it is necessary here to draw the attention of software programmers to some of the most common obstacles to efficient use of software. For more on this topic, see my free E-book Usability for Nerds at Wikibooks.
The following list points out some typical sources of frustration and waste of time for software users as well as important usability problems that software developers should be aware of.
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Big runtime frameworks. The .NET framework and the Java virtual machine are frameworks that typically take much more resources than the programs they are running. Such frameworks are frequent sources of resource problems and compatibility problems and they waste a lot of time both during installation of the framework itself, during installation of the program that runs under the framework, during start of the program, and while the program is running. The main reason why such runtime frameworks are used at all is for the sake of cross-platform portability. Unfortunately, the cross-platform compatibility is not always as good as expected. I believe that the portability could be achieved more efficiently by better standardization of programming languages, operating systems, and API's.
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Memory swapping. Software developers typically have more powerful computers with more RAM than end users have. The developers may therefore fail to see the excessive memory swapping and other resource problems that cause the resource-hungry applications to perform poorly for the end user.
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Installation problems. The procedures for installation and uninstallation of programs should be standardized and done by the operating system rather than by individual installation tools.
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Automatic updates. Automatic updating of software can cause problems if the network is unstable or if the new version causes problem that were not present in the old version. Updating mechanisms often disturb the users with nagging pop-up messages saying please install this important new update or even telling the user to restart the computer while he or she is busy concentrating on important work. The updating mechanism should never interrupt the user but only show a discrete icon signaling the availability of an update, or update automatically when the computer is restarted anyway. Software distributors are often abusing the update mechanism to advertise new versions of their software. This is annoying to the user.
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Compatibility problems. All software should be tested on different platforms, different screen resolutions, different system color settings and different user access rights. Software should use standard API calls rather than self-styled hacks and direct hardware access. Available protocols and standardized file formats should be used. Web systems should be tested in different browsers, different platforms, different screen resolutions, etc. Accessibility guidelines should be obeyed.
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Copy protection. Some copy protection schemes are based on hacks that violate or circumvent operating system standards. Such schemes are frequent sources of compatibility problems and system breakdown. Many copy protection schemes are based on hardware identification. Such schemes cause problems when the hardware is updated. Most copy protection schemes are annoying to the user and prevent legitimate backup copying without effectively preventing illegitimate copying. The benefits of a copy protection scheme should be weighed against the costs in terms of usability problems and necessary support.
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Hardware updating. The change of a hard disk or other hardware often requires that all software be reinstalled and user settings are lost. It is not unusual for the reinstallation work to take a whole workday or more. Many software applications need better backup features, and current operating systems need better support for hard disk copying.
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Security. The vulnerability of software with network access to virus attacks and other abuse is extremely costly to many users. Firewalls, virus scanners and other protection means are among the most frequent causes of compatibility problems and system crash. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for virus scanners to consume more time than anything else on a computer. Security software that is part of the operating system is often more reliable than third party security software.
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Background services. Many services that run in the background are unnecessary for the user and a waste of resources. Consider running the services only when activated by the user.
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Feature bloat. It is common for software to add new features to each new version for marketing reasons. This may cause the software to be slower or require more resources, even if the user never uses the new features.
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Take user feedback seriously. User complaints should be regarded as a valuable source of information about bugs, compatibility problems, usability problems and desired new features. User feedback should be handled in a systematic manner to make sure the information is utilized appropriately. Users should get a reply about investigation of the problems and planned solutions. Patches should be easily available from a website.
