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The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity (平装)
by Alan Cooper
| Category:
Software design, Programming, Testing & engineering, Information technology |
| Market price: ¥ 208.00
MSL price:
¥ 168.00
[ Shop incentives ]
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
MSL Pointer Review:
Wonderful metaphors and framework for talking about interaction with software-based technology. Should be required reading for all programmers.
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AllReviews |
1 Total 1 pages 5 items |
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2008-04-17 00:00>
I've have been involved with the software industry for 15 years as an applications engineer for process control and also as a software developer, SCM engineer, systems engineer, tester, and consumer(PTA/soccer mom).
I read this book in one sitting while dinner did indeed burn on the stove.
I was amazed that Alan managed to capture so much of the frustration that I've seen over the past few years at many levels of user/machine interaction.
I'm currently managing a test group and we are interested in engaging the user modeling to evaluate the impact of software bugs on our customers.
The reviews themselves indicate a high level of resistance from development communities which accurately reflects my own experiences. Alan has touched a hot button for many. The design teams that I work with have embraced the ideas of this book with enthusiasm and have multiple copies on the shelves.
I believe that the book should be assigned reading for anyone involved with human-machine interactions.
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Louise (MSL quote), USA
<2008-04-17 00:00>
You might be familiar with Cooper's previous, and fairly influential, book "About Face: The Essentials of User Interface Design." Cooper is also known as "The Father of Visual Basic" for his work on the original version of Visual Basic for Microsoft.
This latest book goes way beyond the nuts-and-bolts concerns of Cooper's "About Face" book--in fact, it's not really a nuts-and-bolts book at all. Programmers are not the target audience. Rather, "The Inmates Are Running the Asylum" is about the insanity that results from the lack of a proper design process, run by trained professionals, in the software life cycle. That brief description really does not do the book justice, though. This is a manifesto, a call to change for the whole industry. I predict (or perhaps "hope" would be a better word) that in ten years, this book will be viewed as a major milestone for the software industry, on par with Frederick Brooks's "The Mythical Man Month", Codd's relational theory papers, Constantine and Yourdon's "Structured Design", DeMarco's "Peopleware", and McConnell's "Code Complete." I know I'm going out on a limb with a statement like that, but I think this an important book.
I highly recommend this book. It's an easy read, not a technical book. Just to temper some of my hyperbole, this is by no means a perfect book, and many will disagree with Cooper's assessment of and approach to the problems at hand. I certainly have had my disagreements with Cooper in the past. But this book, in my opinion, is generally right on. Even if you don't agree, you won't be able to ignore the floodgates that I hope it opens. Check it out.
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Steamer John (MSL quote), USA
<2008-04-17 00:00>
I was a well-paid systems administrator/help desk guy until I read this book. This book really did inspire me to change careers!
The book basically outlines why engineers (and people who think like engineers) are INCAPABLE of designing effective interfaces. It delves into specifics and supplies some great examples.
I am amused by some of the reviewers here who display the same sort of arrogant contempt that the book outlines. OF COURSE programming a VCR is easy for YOU--you're a person with an "engineer mind". My mom can't program a VCR at all, and that's not because she didn't try hard enough or read the instructions. She can't use it because everything about it's interface is counter-intuitive to someone who does not understand machine/code logic.
Just because it's easy for you doesn't mean it doesn't stink. Just because it makes sense to you doesn't mean it can't be made better-to work intuitively for "regular" people. Buy this book. Read it. Demand more from your products. It's time to end the insanity. |
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Jason (MSL quote), USA
<2008-04-17 00:00>
This book is very accurate on the personalities and processes that happen in software construction. As a fustrated programmer many issues and the exact meaning of examples "Inmates" are very clear. A must read for anyone in the industry. However it contains complex ideas that people not in the knowledge area may miss. Example is the interpretation that the book blames and challenges programmers for the software woes. This is incorrect. It states programmers need assistance of this nature desperately, and managers of today are not providing it. |
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Andrew (MSL quote), USA
<2008-04-17 00:00>
Everyone involved in the software industry should read this book. It should also be made a text-book for those studying to enter the asylum.
I have been developing software for the last 15 years and I could see myself and most of the projects I have worked on described in this book. It will offend a lot of people, but most people don't like to see themselves described this way. It has completely changed my view of the software I develop in one reading.
There are two important concepts Cooper covers -
The first is goal oriented design. What does the user want from the software? More often than not software bogs down in task and function design. The end result is not usually the focus. From this he asks, How do know when the software is finished?
The second is defining 'personas' for the people who will use the software. You give them a name, needs and a personality. Not just a vague 'user' of the software. (As an aside, software developers and...dealers are the only two industries that call their customers 'users'.) From these personas you develop the software. More often than not you will end up developing a number of applications depending on the needs of each, not trying to develop a 'one-size-fits-all' program. Defining personas also keeps the marketers and other interested parties involved (and focussed.)
As you read through these reviews you will notice that reviewer either loves or hates the book. You will also notice that Visual Basic, and the fact that Cooper is its 'Father' will get a disparaging comment in the low rating reviews. People forget that the end result, the goal, is the most important thing, not the fact the builder used a hand saw and not a power saw to build the house.
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1 Total 1 pages 5 items |
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