But I'm not a developer!

Reflecting on the lack of objectivity in programming and the challenges of designing user-friendly customization systems.

by Jesse Wiles
September 9, 2010
Industry

I lack objectivity when it comes to programming. I enjoy it. Programming is problem solving. It almost always includes a reasonable explanation. Programming involves building things, and fixing and refining the things that you build.

I am concerned that for myself, and as a company, a lack of objectivity when it comes to designing systems which lay users can feel comfortable customizing, constitutes a significant blind spot. There are, I'm told, plenty of people who are not developers. There are those who may feel put off by our recipes for customizing your ePublisher projects; creating folders, copy and pasting code, and so on. I would like to hear from you. In particular, I'm interested in how you feel about ePublisher customization. Do you customize? Is the process intuitive? Are there things that you would like to customize, but you find yourself protesting, “But I'm not a developer!” when you find out what's involved.