Modern operating systems are more like a quest than an intuitive software product with a clear purpose. Immediately after the release of the OS, dozens of books appear on the shelves on how to review all of its functionality, what tricks and secrets can be applied to it, a series of videos with reviews instantly appear on social networks, and magazines have many topics for publication.
But it was not always so. Let's remember the old ancestor of Windows - DOS-Shell. It did not differ in great functionality. As time went on, Windows developed, became more functional, more interesting, more complex, more diverse.
In development companies, there are not only programmers and sales managers, as it might seem at first glance. Testers are an integral part of these companies, thanks to them programs and operating systems become not only functional, but also convenient for use. The purchaseability of the product also depends on them.
For example, a large developer spends a lot of time on analyzing and testing a software product, as a result, the user likes it because of its "usability" (as in IT circles a product property is called when using it does not cause additional problems), and a small one cannot afford to pay the work of additional employees, writes programs quickly, not always of high quality, leaves everything as it is, as a result, the program performs its functions, but people do not particularly like it, in other words, it is not "usable". It follows from this that the user (user), most likely, will choose what he intuitively understands, most often he is not very interested in the name of the developer.
In order for a program or OS to become understandable and convenient, you need a clear and convenient interface (shell, toolbars). A non-picky user can, of course, call up the help window and read how to operate the program, but this is long and sometimes difficult to understand.
Let's look at an example from the field of 3D modeling. Let's compare 2 companies and their software products: Siemens and Ascon (Solid Edge and Compass). Siemens has always been famous for its user-friendly interface, when you create a project in Solid Edge, you can easily figure out where the button is, how to rotate the model, without reading the instructions and books, but there is also a drawback: a novice user does not always get the model that he intended. … Ascon has never been famous for its user-friendly interface, it takes time to remember where the panels and buttons are in Compass, but the functionality is so simple that at the output we always get what we intended.
The only area where the emphasis is always on user convenience is computer games, because, unlike programs, there is no need to use them, that is, only the most convenient and interesting will be bought.
Recently, most companies are starting to pay more attention to usability, which is good news.
