Yesterday, I ordered a sandwich at Panera, and saw something quite unexpected. As they were cooking my sandwich, half the sandwich looked delicious, and the other half was starting to falling apart. The cook threw the ugly half in the trash, and cooked another one. Even though the bad half would have tasted the same, the presentation was important enough to throw it away. How many other fast-food restaurants would have done that?
How does this relate to software? Am I saying you should spend more time making an awesome interface? Maybe.
What I am really saying is that Panera’s food is awesome. And they look delicious too. Without good food, the presentation is worthless. Without good presentation, the food can’t truly be appreciated.
It takes an awesome product to make a user happy. The presentation is only one piece of what makes it successful. Every person involved, from the UI designer, to the DBA, make this happen.