Tomalak’s Realm pointed to an IBM Developer Works article titled “Debunking the myths of UI design“. I could probably write pages of agreement and disagreement on the myths and realities that are described. But a tangent topic caught my interest. The essay touches briefly on the fact that software development is a young, rapidly evolving industry. More mature industries have well established roles and guidelines for how products are created. To counter the myth that “Good user interface developers can both design and code the user interface”, he writes: “In building construction, the division of labor between architect and contractor evolved as the industry matured.” It’s probably true that as software development matures, roles will be better established and accepted. However, I think there will always be startups, the small, swift teams, who cut the more bureaucratic & political corners, often for the better, and get decent quality software out the door. It is somewhat like what GM did with Saturn. They achieved the image, and perhaps the reality, of a new way of building cars that wasn’t the tried and true way, but something fresh and happy. I do want UI design, and just good design, to get more mindshare in software development. But I’d hate to see the day that it becomes a boring, old time industry. Are the Microsofts and Oracles going to take over, with no hopes for the small teams getting a product sold?