HP has revealed how its intention to take the complexity out of computing has led to a novel design technique, which might put the firm on the blacklist of many female technologists.

Speaking at an HP workstations event in Los Angeles, Phil McKinney, chief technology officer of the Personal Systems Group at HP, was keen to demonstrate the firm's focus on keeping things simple for the user.

"The biggest frustration for a user is every time a new version of the software comes out, they've got to learn how to use it," he said. Taking the example of switching from Microsoft Office 2003 to Office 2007 and the different ribbon interfaces, McKinney added, "Be honest, how long did it take you to find the 'Save as'? We make the user fight through the technology to use it."

HP has found its own way around the complexity issue, which although admirable in its intentions, unfortunately sets the case of women in IT back a few years. McKinney said that to get to the concept of "absolutely insanely simple" technology, HP simply tailors its designs with women in mind.

"When men buy technology, they take it home and if it doesn't work they beat it into submission," he said. "For women there's a three-strike rule." He explained that women want technology to work straight out of the box, and if the product does not work on the third try they will take it back to the shop.

To demonstrate his point further, McKinney shared the details of the "Michelle test", Michelle being McKinney's wife. "She tests every prototype product. She has to be able to take it out of the box and get it functioning without my help. If she can't, it doesn't ship."

So full marks to HP for putting the user at the heart of its design, even though the reasoning behind the technique is unlikely to help convince more women to consider a career in the IT industry.

26 Mar 2009