No, it’s not.
I find I revisit this topic frequently, so I’ll try to capture my thoughts here once and for all.
When people discuss the latest change they don’t like in software — typically Windows — I frequently hear, “They’re just changing things for the sake of changing them!”
No. Just… no. In my opinion, nothing could be further from the truth.
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Change for the sake of change
Software changes aren’t made “for the sake of change”. There’s always a reason, such as competition, user experience, or new features. You might not like it or benefit from it, but it’s not random. If it truly doesn’t work for you, the power to switch remains yours.
Why Change?
When changes happen — whether it’s a redesign of a favorite app, an update to a product, or a new unasked-for feature — people can get frustrated. Sometimes they assume there’s no good reason for the change.
Some even think it was done randomly or because someone just felt like shaking things up.
No. Every change happens for a reason.
That doesn’t mean you’ll always agree. You might think a change is unnecessary, a mistake, or downright awful. I know I have! But the one thing you can assume is that there was a reason behind the decision. It might not always be well thought out or correct, but it’s there.
Related
The Most Important Attitude
There is one approach to life -- one setting in your psyche -- that affects your experience with technology much more than any lack of skill or knowledge.What drives change
Change isn’t random. Companies don’t make changes “just because.” Behind nearly every change lies some kind of business justification. A few common ones are listed below.
Competition: Companies are under constant pressure to innovate so they stay relevant and competitive. If they don’t evolve and keep up with trends (perceived or otherwise), they risk losing their place in the market. This is one reason AI is being shoveled into so many places. Whether or not it makes sense, it’s seen as a requirement to remain competitive.
User experience: Sometimes testing suggests there’s a better or easier way to do something. Even if you don’t initially understand or like the change, the goal is to make things more intuitive and easier to use over time.
Consistency across platforms: Some changes try to unify the way a product or service works across different platforms like mobile devices and computers. This makes the experience more consistent for users, and in some cases reduces the complexity of the underlying software.
New features: Companies often add new features to stand out or provide more value to a specific group of customers, such as businesses.
Catering to specific users: Sometimes changes are intended to appeal to a particular audience or customer base. For example, features might be added or changed based on what business customers — both business users and the IT departments responsible for them — need.
No matter the reason, it’s almost always about staying competitive and meeting the demands of a fast-changing world — even if you’re not the one changing.
But I don’t like it!
While there’s always a reason behind a change, it might not be obvious to you or it might not apply to you.
For example, if a product changes to better serve business customers, regular users like you and I might not see the benefit. In fact, the change might even get in our way.
Ideally, companies should explain why they’re making changes, but those explanations might not always satisfy1. They also won’t necessarily fix something you dislike just because you dislike it.
Sometimes the reason turns out to be completely wrong; no company makes perfect decisions all the time.
But even if it doesn’t make sense to you or doesn’t improve your experience, there’s a reason.
If you really don’t like it
Not everyone likes every change. No amount of explanation will make a new feature or updated design work for or be tolerable to you. You might just not like it, plain and simple. It happens. A lot.
If that’s the case, it could be time for you to make a change. Switching to a different product or service that better fits your needs is always an option.
At the end of the day, the best thing you can do is focus on finding a solution that works for you.
Do this
There’s always a reason, but:
- …. that reason might not apply to you.
- …. that reason might not be at all obvious.
- …. that reason might just be wrong.
You might not like or understand the change, but there’s always a reason for it.
And if it’s something you can’t live with, then it might be time for a change of your own: to a new solution that’s more to your liking.
That kind of change is entirely in your control.
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Footnotes & References
1: I’ll go so far as to say they rarely satisfy, which is unfortunate.
AutoCad 2006/7 did anything a 2D draftsman, that is those that understood the “bible” (“Engineering Drawing” by OSUs Dr French) could ever want and more,,,,but what did Autodesk do?
“Improve: it untill it was basically a clunky convoluted program that only kiddies that had no concept of the fact working drawings are used to make parts. There is the problem that today few younger people can visualize a 3-view drawing from an object (glass box) What they have done is make the newer versions a nightmare for anything other then drawing pretty pictures and possibly generating G-Code, and if that is not change for the sake of change I’ll eat my LeRoy lettering set.
When I hear the pencil necks on the re-modeling shows (Wife is hooked on them????) say “OH, This kitchen is “Dated” I want to reach right through the television and choke the nimrod. What would the clowns say about FLRs “Falling Waters”? “BOY, That stream is dated!. Let’s divert it and fill in the channel and put in a corn hole court.” If you have a kitchen where form follows function it can NEVER be dated,,,,unless the use of bacic culinary arts becomes dated. Alerations that improve the function are one thing, just changing for the sake of change is down right stupid.
The same goes for software and operation systems. XP worked just fine and is to this day the best that MicroSoft ever created,,,but for the sake of change MS tried to ram VISTA and ME down our throats. If they were better and solved any problems why were they dropped like a hot rock. – Because they stunk, that’s why. They came 7 which seemed to work OK but 8 was pushed on us and it was so bad MS made everybody “upgrade” to 10 which is close to impossible to dial in for a specific use.
Here is a fact. I only use Win10 because you can’t even get a browser that will work with XP any more. There is a reason the DOD STILL has systems that use XP…..Because it works like a charm and WIN10 is a dog…….BTW, You think the military will use WIN11 with MicroSoft having complete access to every single keystroke. ,,,,, Looks like a lot of things will be going back to XP.
There’s a lot of Microsoft bashing here in the comments, but I’ve had similar problems with my Apple devices. For example, Twitter and another couple of apps stopped working because my iPad is too old to get the latest iOS update. That’s just the nature of technology.
Blame it on greed if you want, but to quote Gordon Gekko, “Greed, for want of a better word, is good.”
Much progress is motivated by greed. Thomas Edison was greedy and unscrupulous, but because of him, we have so many inventions which enable today’s technology. Actually, there may be a “better word” for greed: profit motive. Profit motive is good and bad, and unfortunately, sometimes, we need to take some bad with the good.