I recently came across an old presentation called “The Story of the Ribbon,” by Microsoft employee Jensen Harris. Surprisingly, I found it interesting, and I gained some insight about the history of Microsoft Office and how it led to the latest version’s radical interface redesign.
Why do we settle for “good enough”?
But the history wasn’t what really left a lasting impression with me. Rather, it was these two words: good enough.
According to Jensen, “good enough” was the impetus for Office 2007′s redesign. Over the years, as more tool- and taskbars were added, the software had become bloated and confusing. But, still, users didn’t think it would ever change. It was “good enough.”
Which begs the question: Why do we settle for “good enough”?
In my field, software support, people settle for or dish out “good enough” all the time. Waiting hours to get help for a pressing problem is frustrating, but it’s part of life. It’s “good enough.” Ditto for customer service. Friendliness and patience are above and beyond. Frostiness will suffice, as long as the computer is (eventually) fixed. That’s “good enough.”
We shouldn’t settle for good enough. It doesn’t work.
Consider this example:
An employee calls the IT desk asking for help formatting messy data they imported into Excel. A “good enough” resolution would be for the tech to quickly run a formula or two and a little format painting. Maybe even a text-to-columns.
Better than “good enough,” however, would be to ask a few questions first, as the tech may find that the caller will be importing similar data on a regular basis. He can then write a macro for him, perhaps, and walk him through the steps, so the employee will not have to call the help desk each time he attempts to complete the task. (Jen Darr)
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[...] But Microsoft didn’t make these drastic changes willy-nilly; the company’s ultimate goal was to make it easier for users to find hidden features, especially ones that had been buried for so long. (For a look at how the ribbon evolved, see the archived blog post titled “Redefining Good Enough.”) [...]