Quality

The Quality Without A Name (Christopher Alexander)
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* Usability - Will the feature make Curv more usable for novices? 
  Is the feature something that developers will enjoy using? 
  Would either group miss it if it was no longer available?
* Readability - Is the intent of the feature clear and well presented?
* Configurability - Can the user adapt the feature to his or her needs?
* Profoundness - Does the feature strike the user as special or unique,
  but at the same time, insightful and correct?

Donald Norman
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from John Hanacek's thesis "As We May Sketch":
In Don Norman’s “The Design of Everyday Things” he provides ‘principles of good
design,’ which are:

* Visibility. By looking, the user can tell the state of the device and the
  alternatives for action.
* A good conceptual model. The designer provides a good conceptual model for
  the user, with consistency in the presentation of operations and results and
  a coherent, consistent system image.
* Good mappings. It is possible to determine the relationships between actions
  and results, between controls and their effects, and between the system state
  and what is visible.
* Feedback. The user receives full and continuous feedback about the results of
  actions.

Traditional “typed statement” programming environments live up to none
of these criteria. In traditional programming it is often very difficult to
determine relationships between operations and results. The feedback is not
continuous and because of syntax constraints often a program being modified is
not in a state where you can see the results. Systems like spreadsheets are
better, since they offer easier to choose alternatives and usually allow you
to see the results with just a click, providing a nice feedback loop. Norman
concludes that with spreadsheets “it felt as if you were working directly
on the problem, not on a computer.”

Read Donald Norman, "Emotional Design: Why We Love or Hate Everyday Things".
Compare to Alexander's QWAN or his concept of a design with "life".