There is a Japanese term—kaizen—that means “continuous improvement,” and while it’s safe to say that most web designers and developers engage in kaizen, it’s also fair to say that not all changes are improvements. Take, for example, the almost-weekly user interface changes that the developers at Facebook foist upon their users. Some have certainly been improvements over previous iterations (although I’m hard-pressed to think of any at this time), and some have not (a list too long for this post…). Nearly all of their iterations, good or bad, bring forth howls and shrieks of complaints from users who create new groups and pages on Facebook, allowing them to band together to complain about the offending changes.

Ultimately, the issue boils down to respecting the user¹. Does that really cool new interface you’ve developed to replace the old familiar one really improve the user experience, or is it just an exercise in creating something cool? Does removing the “Submit” button from the Facebook post box improve the user experience, or does it just serve to frustrate the masses?

Addendum – 2011-03-30: What irks me most about Facebook’s decision to remove the Post button and make hitting the “Enter” key the default method for posting messages and status updates is that it’s counter-intuitive. As my biz partner Mark was saying today, having to use “control-enter” to create a new paragraph is counter-intuitive, and creates problems down the road, particularly for heavy FB users. Think about it: you get used to hitting “control-enter” on FB, and then start pulling your hair out the next time you type an email, a Word doc, etc.

A smarter, more intuitive option would have been to make “control-enter” post the message, leave “enter” for its intended purpose of creating new lines, and leaving the “Post” button in place for those who don’t consider themselves power users.

1. A phrase borrowed from my friend Neill Kipp.