Controls that are difficult to use.

I have just mastered how to set the timer on my new oven. It is a Bosch one which should be a good make.
For a start my husband cannot read the marks on the knob as they are so small.
Why do things have buttons which go like this:
Press once for X, twice for Y and three times for Z then you have 5 seconds to turn a knob or press another button through a lengthy menu, most of which you will never use and then press another knob to choose your selection, by which time it has gone back to the original setting.
The other thing is they don't do what they say in the manual or the manual has different instructions for several models and you have to choose which is yours. (I go through with a highlighter).
Do they ever try things out with normal people?
Last week I had to write a set of instructions for my sister who is 80 but not stupid so she could use her new washing machine.
I have worked in laboratories with much more complicated equipment but still haven't managed to cancel the oil service light on my car despite following the manual faithfully and even trying Youtube which basically did what the manual said. Didn't work for me!