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From: Bert Bril <bert@dgb.nl>
Subject: Re: Make what user wants?
Date: 1997/09/17
Message-ID: <341F97D4.543C@dgb.nl>#1/1
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 comp.object,comp.software-eng,comp.lang.ada,comp.lang.eiffel,comp.lang.java.tech,comp.lang.c++
Date: 1997-09-17T00:00:00+00:00
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Ell wrote:
> You are seriously delusional if you do not realize that _in general_
> people know what they want.  Not that it's always best for them, but
> generally they do know what they want/desire.
> 

I fully agree with this. In the environment that I work in, users most
often do know what they want. But sometimes you can show them all of the
consequences and then they may want something else.

IMO, this is one of the most common sources of problems in software
development: the communication should be two-way. The problem can be on
either side: the engineer just listens a bit and then goes off to create
unwanted stuff, the user is not interested and doesn't want to think
together about solutions.

I'm don't know whether this is valid in all environments.


[snip]
> The pragmatists deny there is objective truth.  They want to bend things
> to what _they_ see, want, or desire.

But this is a strange and needless twist in your arguments. The fact
that I believe there is no objective truth outside abstract/logical
systems does not mean I bend things to what I want. I am also able to
create models of the world that work best for the user.


Bert

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