The Many Facets of Software

In computers, user data is stored in the same memory as programs. Physically, both are stored as a bunch of ones and zeroes. When bits are read from memory, there is little difference between a jpeg image and an application. Yet we (humans) treat both very differently.

Systems are built for a variety of purposes and with adapted user experiences. Understanding these differences becomes easier once associated with well-known concepts from the physical world. The following sections attempt to categorize software into three groups: spaces, tools, and bots.

Spaces are somewhere you go to, to do something. They give you the feeling of being sucked in. Tools are used to achieve a specific task and can be transported from one place to the other. They do not store data but only act on it. Lastly, bots interact with humans as if they were humans.

The Oxford dictionary defines a space as “A continuous area or expanse which is free, available, or unoccupied.” One of many people go and use space to achieve something. They shape it, make it their own. They can come and leave.

Spaces don’t have to be physical. They can be digital. Slack is designed as space where teams can come together to collaborate and chat. It manages to create an experience similar to cloud office space; including a cloud coffee machine: the #random channel.

Common characteristics of cloud spaces are:

The Oxford dictionary defines a tool as “a device or implements, especially one held in the hand, used to carry out a particular function”. While spaces are shared and contain data, tools are stateless and can be versioned.

In the physical world, you’d use a hammer (tool) to hang paintings in your house (space). The digital equivalent would be to use Microsoft Word 2016 (tool) to edit a file saved on your desktop (space).

Common characteristics of cloud tools are:

Bots are there and they are determined to stay. Although the concept dates from the advent of the Internet, bots are becoming increasingly used thanks to the popularity of chat platforms such as Messenger, WeChat or Skype.

Bots interact with humans as if they were humans. They are independent actors that communicate with us through chat, voice or video. Popular examples include Alexa, Siri or Cortana.

Common characteristics of bots are:

Building spaces, tools, and bots can be done in a variety of ways. Some services or applications can act as a mix of two or all three types. Although at a lower level they all look the same, that is bits of data, from a higher-level perspective a human’s perception and its associated expectations change.

When designing an app or service, it is important to think about how humans will perceive it.

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