Fifth Reflection

I have finally completed the testing portion of my studio project. Up to this point I have been creating mini demo files to test how the various portions of my project will interact with one another. Now as I start the actual production of my project I am reminded of a quote from Mitchell Kapor’s article entitled A Software Design Manifesto.

“Software designers should be trained more like architects than like computer scientists. Software designers should be technically very well grounded without being measured by their ability to write production-quality code.”

The reason I feel this quote relates to this portion of my project is because up until this point I have been concentrating on the technical portion of the project. I was only worried about writing the correct action scripts and making sure everything interacted correctly.

I have neglected the design portion of the project, the user experience. I hope as I work through the rest of the project I will keep this in mind and not get bogged down in all the technical problems that I’m sure will arise. I have to split my efforts between the computer code and the design issues. In my mind the project will be a success if I can finish the project with minimal text based instructions. I feel the user should be able to just load up the flash SWF and start clicking away and have fun seeing all the various places I have visited.

I want to create an engaging piece of “software” that will mirror my personality. I believe you can learn and still have fun while doing it, which is why I choose this project. I myself am learning a new skill set, but at the same time enjoy looking through the pictures of all the places I have visited and the memories I made.

The other reason I choose this quote is because I feel it describes my technical background. I may not be the best computer programmer, far from it actually. But I have enough of a technical background that I can look at a problem and do my best to work with it, and make it look good. I have always enjoyed taking “new media” type of classes because they combined the technical background I have, with a creative side of my personality. The quote makes me feel better about my skills because I always felt that I was never technical enough, nor artistic enough. But now I know that it’s ok to be in the middle, maybe I could be a software designer.

Reference:
Kapor, M. (1996). A software design manifesto. In Winograd, T. (Ed.), Bringing Design to Software (pp. 1-9). New York: Addison-Wesley.