Who doesn’t want to make their software easier to use? Whether simple word processing or dedicated practice management, time & billing or document management. The classical solution is to create macros for a dedicated task: a document for new letterhead, various forms, signature blocks, etc.
Since complex macros can be relatively expensive to develop, and since many firms use essentially the same macros with just a little tweaking, some companies have specialized in macro packages either across the board or for specific tasks such as paragraph numbering.
Some of the leaders in this field include:
Gordon McComb. May be the best macro person in the US. See at www.gwmccomb.com
Eric Crowther. Publishes an extensive macro suite. www.legalmacros.com
Legalmacpac.com. Major purveyor of macro systems.
Softwise. They were acquired a year ago by a bigger company. www.softwise.net.
Payne Consulting. specializes in specific packages such as paragraph numbering, etc. www.payneconsulting.com
Levit & James also has excellent packages for specific functions, in particular the best Table of Authorities system available. www,levitjames.com.
So where’s the rub? I have always been of the opinion that there is a tipping point to ease of use solutions; where the increased dependence on macro systems leads to users who are in fact ill-trained in the basic functions of the program. Thus if anything out of the ordinary occurs, or any new problem presents itself, they don’t have a clue as to where to even start. Thus “ease of use” on many issues may lead to decreased ability to solve new problems.
As my readers know, I am a big fan of Nicholas Carr’s recent book Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains.
He quotes several studies in which people were given problems to solve or complex calendaring problems, one group with “easy to use” software with lots of prompts, assistance, etc. and the other with harder to use software with no user aids. Surprisingly, they found that the users in the “hard to use” group solved problems more quickly and efficiently than did users in the “easy to use” group. As Carr notes, “The more that people depended on explicit guidance from software programs, the less engaged they were in the task and the less they ended up learning.”
There is a lot of humorous (or sad, depending on your point of view) anecdotal evidence that confirms this. One of the most recent is the woman who blindly followed her Google GPS walking instructions right out on to a busy highway where she was hit by a car – and then sued Google! It is a testimony to the kind of stupidity that “ease of use” can induce that the suit hasn’t been dismissed out of hand as frivolous. Another is the advantage of using keystrokes for functions such as file open or file save. Much faster than clicking with the mouse. So why don’t more people do it?
In short, labor saving “easy to use” macros can greatly increase productivity. But an over reliance on such systems leads to users who are less likely to be able to cope with complex or new situations. As Carr noted, a polemicist might say “the brighter the software the dimmer the user.”
Since complex macros can be relatively expensive to develop, and since many firms use essentially the same macros with just a little tweaking, some companies have specialized in macro packages either across the board or for specific tasks such as paragraph numbering.
Some of the leaders in this field include:
Gordon McComb. May be the best macro person in the US. See at www.gwmccomb.com
Eric Crowther. Publishes an extensive macro suite. www.legalmacros.com
Legalmacpac.com. Major purveyor of macro systems.
Softwise. They were acquired a year ago by a bigger company. www.softwise.net.
Payne Consulting. specializes in specific packages such as paragraph numbering, etc. www.payneconsulting.com
Levit & James also has excellent packages for specific functions, in particular the best Table of Authorities system available. www,levitjames.com.
So where’s the rub? I have always been of the opinion that there is a tipping point to ease of use solutions; where the increased dependence on macro systems leads to users who are in fact ill-trained in the basic functions of the program. Thus if anything out of the ordinary occurs, or any new problem presents itself, they don’t have a clue as to where to even start. Thus “ease of use” on many issues may lead to decreased ability to solve new problems.
As my readers know, I am a big fan of Nicholas Carr’s recent book Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains.
He quotes several studies in which people were given problems to solve or complex calendaring problems, one group with “easy to use” software with lots of prompts, assistance, etc. and the other with harder to use software with no user aids. Surprisingly, they found that the users in the “hard to use” group solved problems more quickly and efficiently than did users in the “easy to use” group. As Carr notes, “The more that people depended on explicit guidance from software programs, the less engaged they were in the task and the less they ended up learning.”
There is a lot of humorous (or sad, depending on your point of view) anecdotal evidence that confirms this. One of the most recent is the woman who blindly followed her Google GPS walking instructions right out on to a busy highway where she was hit by a car – and then sued Google! It is a testimony to the kind of stupidity that “ease of use” can induce that the suit hasn’t been dismissed out of hand as frivolous. Another is the advantage of using keystrokes for functions such as file open or file save. Much faster than clicking with the mouse. So why don’t more people do it?
In short, labor saving “easy to use” macros can greatly increase productivity. But an over reliance on such systems leads to users who are less likely to be able to cope with complex or new situations. As Carr noted, a polemicist might say “the brighter the software the dimmer the user.”
Well said. I also take the help of macro for putting signature in my excel sheet. It is ridiculous thing or we can say wastage of time if we are writing our signature again and again. Once macro takes a time in making, but after that all the work has become quite easy and simple.
Posted by: electronic signature pdf | January 27, 2011 at 12:54 AM