The act of synthesis itself needs to be more engaging - not just a menu.
In order for DoH to be taken seriously as equivalent to DoW/WoM, crafting needs to be as active as combat.

I love that FFXIV is designed to be realistic (the look of the world, the synthesis recipes, etc), and I hope that is maintained. But it is still a game. The game-play mechanics need to reflect that. Even though craftsmen are essentially businessmen, crafting should still be fun. And it's okay if the synthesis mechanic "breaks character" a bit. =P

I actually think the synthesis system is very well done conceptually, it's just that sitting around clicking a menu hundreds of times is tedious and boring. If they could just replace the menu with something more involving, they could keep the rest of the system largely intact.

For example: considering the "colored orb" mechanic, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to make a timing/rhythm game out of it. Assign a key to each of the primary colors (white, yellow, red) and add a timing gauge to act as a metronome (similar to the position gauges used in gathering, but continuous throughout the synthesis). The player would then press the key corresponding to the current color of the orb while the timing indicator is within a target field on the gauge. Progress would increase steadily throughout as successes are scored, with durability taking damage for failures; while "perfect" successes could enhance quality.

A complete synthesis should take about as long as a single combat. Rapid synthesis would be more difficult but only take half the time. Whereas, careful synthesis would be as difficult as rapid but take the full time, while providing great bonuses to quality. The wait command could translate into a "pass" key allowing you to skip a turn without penalty (e.g. if the color is unstable). Abilities could be displayed on an action bar, using keys 1-0 as needed/available (the same as in combat). Many abilities affect things like durability loss and elemental stability and wouldn't really need to be changed (any "increased chance of success" widens the target field).

Of course, such a thing would need to be balanced so that any player can consistently complete synthesis of appropriate rank (soon to be called "level"), regardless of real-world eye-hand coordination. But more difficult synthesis should prove very challenging, even for those skilled at such things.

And, of course, add multi-player support. Cooperative synthesis could involve party members working concurrently on separate parts (with shared quality/durability/etc), or a primary artisan working with "assistants" (with supporters working to provide quality or stability bonuses and such for the primary).

I'm sure there are many other ideas floating around, but this seems a logical evolution of the current system into something that would be fun to play.