- If you missed what “Structured Communications” is all about, please take a look here.
- Below is a leaked email from Bill Gates to Jim Alchin, the vice president of Consumer Division and couple of other executives.
- Bill Gates outlines his dissatisfaction as an end user experience when trying to install a single software called “Movie Maker” but had to jump through a lot of hoops. The email had no structure to it and seem like a rambling of complaints. People who got CC-ed on the email spent several days back and forth trying to identify who are the owners and what are the problems.
- If Bill Gates practiced Structured Communications style, he likely would get a faster feedback and have the teams to tackle the real issues faster. The last email is dated 2 days later on Friday evening where Mike Beckerman is still trying to get traction on participants to agree this is urgent and the need to focus.
- Just to be clear, I admire Bill Gates and I am sure not all of his emails are written like this. He might’ve been frustrated at the time and just wanted to get the message out.
Unstructured (original email from Bill Gates)
From: Bill Gates
Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 10:05 AM
To: Jim Allchin
Cc: Chris Jones; Bharat Shah; Joe Peterson; Will Poole; Brian Valentine; Anoop Gupta
Subject: Windows Usability Systematic degradation flame
I am quite disappointed at how Windows Usability has been going backwards and the program management groups don't drive usability issues.
Let me give you my experience from yesterday.
I decided to download Moviemake and buy the Digital Plus pack r so I went to Microsoft.com. They have a download place so I went there.
The first 5 times I used the site it timed out while trying to bring up the download page. Then after an 8 second delay I got it to come up
This site is so slow it is unusable.
It wasn't in the top 5 so I expanded the other 45.
These 45 names are totally confusing. These names make stuff like: C:\Documents and Settings\billg\My Documents\My Pictures seem clear.
They are not filtered by the system I can in on and so many of the things are strange.
I tried scoping to Media stuff. Still no moviemaker. I typed in moviemaker. Nothing. I typed in movie maker. Nothing.
So I gave up and sent mail to Amir saying - where is this Moviemaker download? Does it exist?
So they told me that using the download page to download something was not something they anticipated
They told me to go to the main page search button and type movie maker (not moviemaker!).
I tried that The site was pathetically slow but after 6 seconds of waiting up it came.
I thought for sure now I would see a button to just go do the download.
In fact it is more like a puzzle that you get to solve. It told me to go to Windows Update and do a bunch of incantations.
This struck me as completely odd. Why should I have to go somewhere else and do a scan to download moviemaker?
So I went to Windows update. Windows Update decides I need to download a bunch of controls. Now just once but multiple times where I get to see weird dialog boxes.
Doesn't Windows update know some key to talk to Windows?
Then I did the scan. This took quite some time and I was told it was critical for me to download 17megs of stuff.
This is after I was told we were doing delta patches to things but instead just to get 6 things that are labeled in the SCARIEST possible way I had to download 17meg.
So I did the download. That part was fast. Then it wanted to do an install. This took 6 minutes and the machine was so slow I couldn't use it for anything else during this time.
What the heck is going on during those 6 minutes? That is crazy. This is after the download was finished.
Then it told me to reboot my machine. Why should I do that? I reboot every night - why should I reboot at that time?
So I did the reboot because it INSISTED on it. Of course that meant completely getting rid of all my Outlook state.
So I got back up and running and went to Windows Update again. I forgot why I was in Windows Update at all since all I wanted was to get Moviemaker.
So I went back to Microsoft.com and looked at the instructions. I have to click on a folder called WindowsXP. Why should I do that? Windows Update knows I am on Windows XP.
What does it mean to have to click on that folder? So I get a bunch of confusing stuff but sure enough one of them is Moviemaker.
So I do the download. The download is fast but the Install takes many minutes. Amazing how slow this thing is.
At some point I get told I need to go get Windows Media Series 9 to download.
So I decide I will go do that. This time I get dialogs saying things like "Open" or "Save". No guidance in the instructions which to do. I have no clue which to do.
The download is fast and the install takes 7 minutes for this thing.
So now I think I am going to have Moviemaker. I go to my add/remove programs place to make sure it is there.
It is not there.
What is there? The following garbage is there. Microsoft Autoupdate Exclusive test package, Microsoft Autoupdate Reboot test package, Microsoft Autoupdate testpackage1, Microsoft AUtoupdate testpackage2, Microsoft Autoupdate Test package3.
Someone decided to trash the one part of Windows that was usable? The file system is no longer usable. The registry is not usable. This program listing was one sane place but now it is all crapped up.
But that is just the start of the crap. Later I have listed things like Windows XP Hotfix see Q329048 for more information. What is Q329048? Why are these series of patches listed here? Some of the patches just things like Q810655 instead of saying see Q329048 for more information.
What an absolute mess.
Moviemaker is just not there at all.
So I give up on Moviemaker and decide to download the Digital Plus Package.
I get told I need to go enter a bunch of information about myself.
I enter it all in and because it decides I have mistyped something I have to try again. Of course it has cleared out most of what I typed
I try tryping the right stuff in 5 times and it just keeps clearing things out for me to type them in again.
So after more than an hour of craziness and making my programs list garbage and being scared and seeing that Microsoft.com is a terrible website I haven't run Moviemaker and I haven't got the plus package
The lack of attention to usability represented by these experiences blows my mind. I thought we had reached a low with Windows Network places or the messages I get when I try to use 802.11. (don't you just love that root certificate message?)
When I really get to use the stuff I am sure I will have more feedback.Structured (edited by Stanley)
From: Bill Gates
Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 10:05 AM
To: Jim Allchin
Cc: Chris Jones; Bharat Shah; Joe Peterson; Will Poole; Brian Valentine; Anoop Gupta
Subject: Severely Degraded Windows Usability and Systematic Issues
Having went through an attempt to install Movie Maker on my machine, I am quite disappointed of the overall Windows Usability as an end user. I encountered quality issues ranging from the microsoft.com website, to windows updates, and installation dependencies. In the end I was so frustrated and got lost in the process. We need to have higher ownership from program management groups to drive usability and integration issues. Let me give you my experience from yesterday chronologically:
Microsoft.com
- I went to the downloads section to download Moviemake and buy the Digital Plus pack. This is where I expected to find the software.
Issues:
1. Website Too slow - The first 5 times I used the site, it timed out while trying to bring up the download page. After 8 second delay, I got it to come up.
2. Searchability - I am unable to find what I'm looking for in the top 5 items, so I expanded the other 45. The names are confusing. I tried scoping to Media stuff, still no movie maker. I typed moviemaker, still got nothing.
3. Search Keywords is too strict - I had to ask Amir directly where is this Moviemaker download. They told me to go to main page search button and type movie maker (not moviemaker)!
4. Search feature is too slow - The site was pathetically slow but after 6 seconds of waiting up it came.
Windows Update
- After finding the correct download link on Microsft.com, it told me to go to windows update locally and do a bunch of incantations. This struck me as completely odd. Why should I have to go somewhere else and do a scan to download moviemaker? So I went to Windows update and continue anyway.
Issues:
1. Unfriendly Installation Descriptions - Windows Update decides I need to download a bunch of controls. Now just once but multiple times where I get to see weird dialog boxes. Doesn't Windows update know some key to talk to Windows? The dialog boxes should figure itself out what are needed to continue without user intervention.
2. Unfriendly Installation Steps - Then I did the scan. This took quite some time and I was told it was critical for me to download 17megs of stuff. This is after I was told we were doing delta patches to things but instead just to get 6 things that are labeled in the SCARIEST possible way I had to download 17meg.
3. High Resource usage during Installation - So I did the download. That part was fast. Then it wanted to do an install. This took 6 minutes and the machine was so slow I couldn't use it for anything else during this time.
4. Continuous reboot - Then it told me to reboot my machine. Why should I do that? I reboot every night - why should I reboot at that time? So I did the reboot because it INSISTED on it. Of course that meant completely getting rid of all my Outlook state.
Installation Dependencies
- So I got back up and running and went to Windows Update again. I forgot why I was in Windows Update at all since all I wanted was to get Moviemaker. So I went back to Microsoft.com and looked at the instructions.
Issues:
1. Too many Manual interventions - I have to click on a folder called WindowsXP. Why should I do that? Windows Update knows I am on Windows XP. At some point I get told I need to go get Windows Media Series 9 to download. So I decide I will go do that. This time I get dialogs saying things like "Open" or "Save". No guidance in the instructions which to do. I have no clue which to do.
2. Too many cluttered unrelated software during installation - So now I think I am going to have Moviemaker. I go to my add/remove programs place to make sure it is there. It is not there. What is there? The following garbage is there.
- Microsoft Autoupdate Exclusive test package,
- Microsoft Autoupdate Reboot test package,
- Microsoft Autoupdate testpackage1,
- Microsoft AUtoupdate testpackage2,
- Microsoft Autoupdate Test package3.
- Windows XP Hotfix see Q329048 for more information. (What is Q329048? Why do I need to know this? Why is it here?)
Software Activation
- So I give up on Moviemaker and decide to download the Digital Plus Package in order to get Moviemaker.
Issues:
1. Registration starts over unnecessarily - I get told I need to go enter a bunch of information about myself.I enter it all in and because it decides I have mistyped something I have to try again. Of course it has cleared out most of what I typed. I try tryping the right stuff in 5 times and it just keeps clearing things out for me to type them in again.
So after more than an hour of craziness and making my programs list garbage and being scared and seeing that Microsoft.com is a terrible website I haven't run Moviemaker and I haven't got the plus package. The lack of attention to usability represented by these experiences blows my mind.
Action Items:
1. Please identify the owners of the various programs to work on a list of issues and increase the quality of usability.
2. While the issues I encountered represents a small set of the overall, this highlights we have integration problems throughout end user journey. As part of the larger discussions, I would like some ideas that can reduce probabilities of adding usabilities issues in future feature releases.References:
Coffee Break 
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