API design is UI design
summary
Shows concrete API failures and fixes: the SVG DOM returns an SVGAnimatedLength so code needs .baseVal.value to get 45, video controls force reimplementing the toolbar (one line becomes ~81 lines), compareDocumentPosition returns an opaque bitmask while contains handles the common case, and components hit a useability cliff when extensibility is missing. Argues for progressive disclosure and prioritizing users over implementers, recommends five users find 80% of issues through simple user testing and dogfooding before shipping.
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chapters (13)
- 0:00Introduction
- 2:57Alan Kay’s design principle
- 6:42Progressive complexity
- 8:59Orthogonal controls
- 10:34Usability cliffs
- 12:49Smooth complexity curves
- 14:29Real use cases
- 16:47Internal consistency
- 17:56Priority of constituencies
- 19:47Iterative design layers
- 22:32User testing
- 24:53Dogfooding and empathy
- 25:40Role of empathy
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