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One big perception is that if the UI is not quite right (or worse), the code is also not quite right (or worse). Since the UI is seen and code is unseen, it becomes the visible representation of overall quality. So even if the code is tight and elegant underneath a sloppy UI, it will be perceived at the quality of the UI.

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Absolutely. To nearly everyone, the user interface is the program. This sounds like a truism but really is the opposite. It has important practical consequences.

To nearly everyone, the user interface is the program.

I would add to that the reason I’m wary of shipping an unpolished product as early as possible with the idea of refining it later: you only get one chance to make a first impression.

I think there's an important distinction between an unfinished product and an unpolished product.

To use an overused example, the iPhone was unfinished in terms of features but what was there was incredibly polished.

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