Interaction equals satisfaction
Published by on June 2nd, 2006
I have been sat here for a good few hours working on a highly interactive web application - can’t say more than that until it is released as the client wants it kept fairly quiet.
Most of the core coding is done - the sometimes back-breaking work of turning concepts into structured data and code - and I am now into the creation of all those neat twiddly interface elements which make the user experience that much more colourful. Nothing superfluous of course, I am talking here about, for example, having every instance of a site registered user’s name linking to their profile, or a category name linking to details of that category. Sounds obvious, but all these things need lines of code to make them happen and all add to the general usability of a website.
What struck me this afternoon was that this is what generates the buzz I get from projects like this: building something real people are going to find useful.
I have never been good with physical building - oh, I managed a free standing, wooden framed bird cage once (proper mortice joints too and no nails or screws except those holding the door and wire on) - generally wood splinters around me in panic when I merely walk through B&Q. But being the loin-spring of a very practical and ‘get your hands dirty’ kind of father, gave me a inner need to ‘build’ which pure design and artworking in the past never fulfilled. Once I realised that longer term survival in the Internet development world required acceptance and learning of databases, server code and user interfaces (I discovered a natural ability to visualise data structures), that previously repressed urge to build finally found expression.
Complex sites are enjoyable to build. Yes there are usually late nights (hence the lack of posting and podcasting recently) and yes, just when you think it’s all done and the invoicing is just appearing in the distance, there’s always something left to sort, overall they are the most satisfying of my professional projects these days. I am almost disappointed to build simple non-interactive websites and for the most part I avoid those little projects as much as the bank balance allows.
The next project is to finally get going properly on my own CMS system. I’ve built one other from the ground up and know that I can do it better with that behind me. Utilising the Code Igniter framework will also be a bonus (which I am learning to use as part of the current project). as it will save development time and provide a more solid foundation for ongoing work. Perhaps the title of this post should be tweaked to:
Learning plus Interaction equals professional satisfaction.
Technorati Tags: interaction, user interface, cms
