Consider a piece of software that is already out there being used every day. The majority of users have become what Alan Cooper refers to as “perpetual intermediates”. They use specific parts of the product and are probably annoyed by certain interactions that the software makes them endure.
These users, if vocal enough, will be the source of most ongoing functional requirements. They will drive the ideas for enhancing the product. But who speaks for those potential customers who didn’t stick with the product long enough to become perpetual intermediates? How many novice users were driven away by function or interactions that the “loyal” users overcame?
Apple has Steven Jobs. His uncompromising view of how the product must be before it is released to the public has resulted in several hits. The Mac and the iPod are the two most famous examples. I am not suggesting that Apple doesn’t gather user feedback or conduct usability testing. But I am hypothesizing that Apple has another voice speaking out for the silent group that would otherwise abandon the product before getting used to its quirks.
I think it is our duty as software developers to speak up when we see complexity gaining ground on usability or even usefulness. We must pound on the table and demand that “ejector seat” function does not appear beside common function — or hundreds of other fundamental design principles put forward by people like Cooper and Jef Raskin.
By the way, there is another group at the other end of the spectrum, just as silent as the ship-jumping novices. When people become truly expert at using a difficult-to-use product, they have a disincentive to submit feedback about simplifying it. After all, they can make a living charging for their expertise.