inputs/outputs

Last night, I went to see a free a cappella show at the college that I graduated from. Afterwards, a few of us, in order to get to the parking garage, needed to pass through what was known as The Tavern, a communal space with couches, a chic fil a, and a greasy grill area called American Pi. I hate American Pi. It’s the type of place where they take your order, but don’t communicate it to the cooks. At dinnertime, the wait can be nearly 30 minutes, and you have to claim your food. There’s no real way to prove that the cheeseburger you ordered was truly your cheeseburger. No one checked your receipt. They just took your word for it. People took advantage of that system constantly. If I wanted to, I could walk up to the end of the tavern line and claim a cheeseburger without paying for it.

We walked into what seemed to be a second system - blue lights were now tacked up against the previously lifeless walls, the black trash cans had been replaced with open top silver bins, and there was a row of computers surrounding the perimeter. The place looked beautiful. There was less clutter, and more tables, and the tables were warm and inviting.

The problem is that it wasn’t a second system at all. It was a new user interface that didn’t do anything to solve the problems from the previous set-up. There may be more space, but after the novelty wears off, the line at the tavern will still be as long, and it will still be run just as poorly. If a system is broken to begin with, sprucing up the UI is only going to be a temporary delight. Spend money on coming up with a new process first, and then change the UI accordingly.