When television debuted in the 1930s it was a "how" looking for a "why." Some of the earliest programming simply placed a stationary camera in front of radio broadcasters, microphone and all. A decade or so later, innovators like Lucille Ball and Carl Reiner repurposed their radio shtick, marrying it with vaudeville and theater and the sitcom was born. Broadcasting today still draws from those early explorations.

Such dramatic advances emerge periodically in all technology fields, changing forever the landscape ahead. Those who don't adapt usually are (at least eventually) forced out. Can you imagine listening to serial radio programs like "The Shadow" or "Dick Tracy" in the modern era?

The web's emergence in the early 1990s caused a similar wholesale shift in technology, rippling through virtually every facet of the industry. Software design and production - notably - evolved in quantum leaps. In this era information architecture, interface usability and user-centered design were just emerging championed by pioneers and visionaries such as Edward Tufte and Jacob Nielsen. Their insights and market predictions have moved from next generation concepts to the bread-and-butter of modern software.

Changing Times

In the early days of the web software producers designed solutions solely in a boardroom and expected to "throw over the wall" a functional specification that users were obliged to adopt. Over the last decade software end users expectations evolved just as quickly as the underlying technology. Today's user expects all the functionality gleaned from developers and engineers' hard won experience solving past software problems - but they also increasingly expect a satisfying user experience. Technologies such as AJAX, Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and Silverlight bring the tools to deliver stunning, rich and meaningful interaction with software's underlying heavy lifting (i.e., enhanced ability to seamlessly connect data sources, to gather, present and act on data).

The 800 lb gorilla

But simple awareness of these trends does not automatically translate into building software that satisfies today's consumer or ensures the software (that is, the investment) survives in a market where user expectations are multiplying. Now that software designers and producers have so many new avenues to affect the "how" of their products, there is a counterbalancing need to explore - or re-explore - the "why."

Remember the opening example of television? Advances in technology invite, even necessitate, periodic reinvention of one's product, service or idea. This trend toward innovation centered on user's expectations is emerging all around. Microsoft's wholesale revamping of its Office UI is a case study example that even the 800 lb gorilla has to give ground some time to remain dominant. Apple's iPhone is another example of rethinking entrenched technology and delivering what the people want. The iPhone's 80% market share in the mobile web market in a scant couple of years is a testament to the success possible if users' imaginations are piqued along with meeting their needs.

The Why

Such success is built on stepping back to examine whether today's audience considers the "why" of the software differently. Innovative directions spawned from such a focus simply aren't possible if designers and developers devote most resources to extending a base solution that may already be out of phase with the audience's expectations. There's a phenomenal difference between delivering something that simply works and crafting a solution that works simply. The demand for these simple, elegant and sustainable software solutions will only become more pronounced as the software market continues to diversify and innovate bolstered by technology advancement.

Think about the software you and your company rely upon, or the software solutions you're putting into the marketplace. Is it time to raise the bar?

Next Time: We'll explore how these new trends drive change in approaches and methodology when designing and building software.