As software becomes “everywhere” there is a certain responsibility that we have when designing and developing software. Here, is my list of points or checklist to make sure we always come up with superior, well designed software to seamlessly integrate technology into people’s lives.

Pleasant — Gracious software is zen-like and should make you feel at ease, calm and good whe using it. Spending time with Gracious software should be like taking a quiet walk in the garden.

Kind — Gracious software exhibits kindness. Messages (error, alerts) should be friendly, polite and NEVER overwhelming or threatening.

Easy to Use — Gracious software is “grandma-proof”. If your grandma can’t navigate between pages then you need to go back to the drawing board.

Friendly — Gracious software should show me the way and guide me to places I have never been before (only when I am ready for them).

Not Intimidating — A blank page with no data and a page with a lot of data are intimidating. Gracious software should make me feel right at home by designing pages that have just the right information for me to take the next step.

Fast, Smooth and Swift — Gracious software is not sluggish. It is swift. It respects your time and is fast.

Smart — Gracious software doesn’t make you think. It can calculate stuff. It will tell you when you are late or going to be late. It should be able to predict and foresee problems.

Good Looking — Gracious software looks clean, uncluttered and well designed. It is a pleasure to use gracious software every day.