1. Good software is effective.
Latency or responsivity is an absolute deal breaker regarding software qualities. Pre-cache, lazy-load, and focus on the user's perception of time. No one is interested in your fancy loader animations.
2. Good software empowers people.
Innovation is great, but it can never be an end in itself. Good software provides real value to users, communities, teams, or society. Otherwise, you sell gimmicks or worse.
3. Good software is cooperative.
Build it upon the existing protocols and let it use them. Make content accessible for clipboard, allow sharing via other apps, and support open standards.
4. Obvious is good.
As Jobs said: "Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple." That goes double for software user experience. There are hundreds of ways to present an interface, yet only a few are intuitive. Follow the well-known patterns. Make it obvious, captain.
5. Good software is cross-platform.
The line between personal and professional computing will continue to blur. Today we use phones, watches, cars, tv, desktops, and the web. We switch between platforms without thinking. Delivering a seamless experience has never been easier than it is today.
6. Good software respects privacy.
No dark patterns, manipulations, omnipotent tracking, and creeping out "rate me now" popups. Be respectful and honest to your users.
7. Good software is inclusive and speaks to humans.
Empowering software must communicate in clear, unbiased, and humane ways. Tech jargon (error codes, logs, etc) may be useful for engineers but not for the user. Be clear and helpful about what's going on. Imagine having a conversation with your software.
8. Good software is open.
The trend towards open source and collaborative development will continue. People will work together to solve problems and create new technologies. This trend will benefit everyone, as we will share our knowledge and expertise with others. Open solutions are also manifesting trust in their qualities.
What do you think these principles should cover? Do you know any projects that fulfill most of the principles and may be a good example? Feel free to get in touch -> peter (at) jensen.wtf
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