Download or read book Why High tech Products Drive Us Crazy and how to Restore the Sanity written by Alan Cooper and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alan Cooper calls for a Software Revolution - his best-selling book now in trade paperback with new foreword and afterword.
Download or read book The Inmates are Running the Asylum written by Alan Cooper and published by Sams Publishing. This book was released on 1999 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: PLEASE PROVIDE COURSE INFORMATION PLEASE PROVIDE
Download or read book The Inmates Are Running the Asylum written by Alan Cooper and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Imagine, at a terrifyingly aggressive rate, everything you regularly use is being equipped with computer technology. Think about your phone, cameras, cars - everything - being automated and programmed by people who in their rush to accept the many benefits of the silicon chip, have abdicated their responsibility to make these products easy to use. The Inmates are Running the Asylum argues that, despite appearances, business executives are simply not the ones in control of the high-tech industry. They have inadvertently put programmers and engineers in charge, leading to products and processes.
Download or read book Why Software Sucks and what You Can Do about it written by David S. Platt and published by Addison-Wesley Professional. This book was released on 2007 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "I've just finished reading the best computer book [ Why Software Sucks...] since I last re-read one of mine and I wanted to pass along the good word. . . . Put this one on your must-have list if you have software, love software, hate programmers, or even ARE a programmer, because Mr. Platt (who teaches programming) has set out to puncture the bloated egos of all those who think that just because they can write a program, they can make it easy to use. . . . This book is funny, but it is also an important wake-up call for software companies that want to reduce the size of their customer support bills. If you were ever stuck for an answer to the question, 'Why do good programmers make such awful software?' this book holds the answer." -- John McCormick, Locksmith columnist, TechRepublic.com "I must say first, I don't get many computing manuscripts that make me laugh out loud. Between the laughs, Dave Platt delivers some very interesting insight and perspective, all in a lucid and engaging style. I don't get much of that either!" -- Henry Leitner, assistant dean for information technology and senior lecturer on computer science, Harvard University "A riotous book for all of us downtrodden computer users, written in language that we understand." -- Stacy Baratelli, author's barber "David's unique take on the problems that bedevil software creation made me think about the process in new ways. If you care about the quality of the software you create or use, read this book." -- Dave Chappell, principal, Chappell & Associates "I began to read it in my office but stopped before I reached the bottom of the first page. I couldn't keep a grin off my face! I'll enjoy it after I go back home and find a safe place to read." -- Tsukasa Makino, IT manager "David explains, in terms that my mother-in-law can understand, why the software we use today can be so frustrating, even dangerous at times, and gives us some real ideas on what we can do about it." -- Jim Brosseau, Clarrus Consulting Group, Inc. A Book for Anyone Who Uses a Computer Today...and Just Wants to Scream! Today's software sucks. There's no other good way to say it. It's unsafe, allowing criminal programs to creep through the Internet wires into our very bedrooms. It's unreliable, crashing when we need it most, wiping out hours or days of work with no way to get it back. And it's hard to use, requiring large amounts of head-banging to figure out the simplest operations. It's no secret that software sucks. You know that from personal experience, whether you use computers for work or personal tasks. In this book, programming insider David Platt explains why that's the case and, more importantly, why it doesn't have to be that way. And he explains it in plain, jargon-free English that's a joy to read, using real-world examples with which you're already familiar. In the end, he suggests what you, as a typical user, without a technical background, can do about this sad state of our software--how you, as an informed consumer, don't have to take the abuse that bad software dishes out. As you might expect from the book's title, Dave's expose is laced with humor--sometimes outrageous, but always dead on. You'll laugh out loud as you recall incidents with your own software that made you cry. You'll slap your thigh with the same hand that so often pounded your computer desk and wished it was a bad programmer's face. But Dave hasn't written this book just for laughs. He's written it to give long-overdue voice to your own discovery--that software does, indeed, suck, but it shouldn't.
Download or read book Designing for the Digital Age written by Kim Goodwin and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-03-25 with total page 770 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whether you’re designing consumer electronics, medical devices, enterprise Web apps, or new ways to check out at the supermarket, today’s digitally-enabled products and services provide both great opportunities to deliver compelling user experiences and great risks of driving your customers crazy with complicated, confusing technology. Designing successful products and services in the digital age requires a multi-disciplinary team with expertise in interaction design, visual design, industrial design, and other disciplines. It also takes the ability to come up with the big ideas that make a desirable product or service, as well as the skill and perseverance to execute on the thousand small ideas that get your design into the hands of users. It requires expertise in project management, user research, and consensus-building. This comprehensive, full-color volume addresses all of these and more with detailed how-to information, real-life examples, and exercises. Topics include assembling a design team, planning and conducting user research, analyzing your data and turning it into personas, using scenarios to drive requirements definition and design, collaborating in design meetings, evaluating and iterating your design, and documenting finished design in a way that works for engineers and stakeholders alike.
Download or read book Understanding Your Users written by Kathy Baxter and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2005-01-19 with total page 704 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today many companies are employing a user-centered design (UCD) process, but for most companies, usability begins and ends with the usability test. Although usability testing is a critical part of an effective user-centered life cycle, it is only one component of the UCD process. This book is focused on the requirements gathering stage, which often receives less attention than usability testing, but is equally as important. Understanding user requirements is critical to the development of a successful product. Understanding Your Users is an easy to read, easy to implement, how-to guide on usability in the real world. It focuses on the "user requirements gathering" stage of product development and it provides a variety of techniques, many of which may be new to usability professionals. For each technique, readers will learn how to prepare for and conduct the activity, as well as analyze and present the data —all in a practical and hands-on way. In addition, each method presented provides different information about the user and their requirements (e.g., functional requirements, information architecture, task flows). The techniques can be used together to form a complete picture of the users’ requirements or they can be used separately to address specific product questions. These techniques have helped product teams understand the value of user requirements gathering by providing insight into how users work and what they need to be successful at their tasks. Case studies from industry-leading companies demonstrate each method in action. In addition, readers are provided with the foundation to conduct any usability activity (e.g., getting buy-in from management, legal and ethical considerations, setting up your facilities, recruiting, moderating activities) and to ensure the incorporation of the results into their products. ·Covers all of the significant requirements gathering methods in a readable, practical way ·Presents the foundation readers need to prepare for any requirements gathering activity and ensure that the results are incorporated into their products ·Includes invaluable worksheet and template appendices ·Includes a case study for each method from industry leaders ·Written by experienced authors who teach conference courses on this subject to usability professionals and new product designers alike
Download or read book The essentials of using interface design written by Alan Cooper and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2002-05-11 with total page 600 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: · The Goal· The Form· The Behavior· The Interaction· The Cast· The Gizmos
Download or read book Summary The Inmates Are Running the Asylum written by BusinessNews Publishing, and published by Primento. This book was released on 2013-02-15 with total page 43 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The must-read summary of Alan Cooper's book: "The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High-Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity". This complete summary of the ideas from Alan Cooper's book "The Inmates Are Running the Asylum" shows that computer technology is embedded within almost every product that is manufactured. Yet all too often, these ''new-and-improved’’ products are hard to use because the engineers who are developing the interface between the user and the machine don’t think like the average man-on-the-street who knows nothing about technology. Therefore, the situation effectively becomes the equivalent of letting the inmates run the asylum in which they are incarcerated. Better products need to be developed that work in the same way that average people think. Only then will new products deliver on their implied promise of enhancing the quality of life for their users. According to Alan Cooper, designers who are skilled in this specific field should be responsible for designing the interface between the user and the machine. This summary asserts that the goal of computer usage should be "not to make anyone feel stupid". Added-value of this summary: • Save time • Understand the key concepts • Increase your business knowledge To learn more, read "The Inmates Are Running the Asylum" and rethink entrenched priorities in software planning.
Download or read book The Joy of UX written by David S. Platt and published by Addison-Wesley Professional. This book was released on 2016-06-02 with total page 465 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “For years now, I’ve been running around preaching to anyone who’ll listen that UX is something that everybody (not just UX people) needs to be doing. Dave has done an excellent job of explaining what developers need to know about UX, in a complete but compact, easy-to-absorb, and implementable form. Developers, come and get it!” —Steve Krug, author of Don’t Make Me Think! A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability Master User Experience and Interaction Design from the Developer’s Perspective For modern developers, UX expertise is indispensable: Without outstanding user experience, your software will fail. Now, David Platt has written the first and only comprehensive developer’s guide to achieving a world-class user experience. Quality user experience isn’t hard, but it does require developers to think in new ways. The Joy of UX shows you how, with plenty of concrete examples. Firmly grounded in reality, this guide will help you optimize usability and engagement while also coping with difficult technical, schedule, and budget constraints. Platt’s technology-agnostic approach illuminates all the principles, techniques, and best practices you need to build great user experiences for the web, mobile devices, and desktop environments. He covers the entire process, from user personas and stories through wireframes, layouts, and execution. He also addresses key issues—such as telemetry and security—that many other UX guides ignore. You’ll find all the resources and artifacts you need: complete case studies, sample design documents, testing plans, and more. This guide shows you how to Recognize and avoid pitfalls that lead to poor user experiences Learn the crucial difference between design and mere decoration Put yourself in your users’ shoes—understand what they want (and where, when, and why) Quickly sketch and prototype user interfaces for easy refinement Test your sketches on real users or appropriate surrogates Integrate telemetry to capture the best possible usage information Use analytics to accurately interpret the data you’ve captured Solve unique experience problems presented by mobile environments Secure your app without compromising usability any more than necessary “Polish” your UX to eliminate user effort everywhere you can Register your product at informit.com/register for convenient access to downloads, updates, and corrections as they become available.
Download or read book The Essential Persona Lifecycle Your Guide to Building and Using Personas written by Tamara Adlin and published by Morgan Kaufmann. This book was released on 2010-03-20 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Essential Persona Lifecycle: Your Guide to Building and Using Personas offers a practical guide to the creation and use of personas, which can help product designers, their team, and their organization become more user focused. This book is for people who just need to know what to do and what order to do it in. It is completely focused on practical tools and methods, without much explanation on why the particular tool or method is the right one. The book discusses the five phases of persona lifecycle: Family planning — Basic ideas and a few tools that will help one get organized Conception and gestation — Step-by-step instructions to move from assumptions to completed personas Birth and maturation — Strategic techniques to get the right information about ones personas out to ones your teammates at the right time Adulthood — Specific tools that will ensure that ones personas are used by the right people at the right times and in the right ways during the product development cycle Lifetime achievement and retirement — Basic ideas and a few tools to you measure the success of the persona effort and prepare for the next one Practical and immediately applicable how-to reference guide for building and using personas – from planning, creating, launching, evaluating, and determining ROI Invaluable guide that gives you a quick reference for incorporating personas into a product development process Features all the essential how-to material from its parent book, The Persona Lifecycle, as a quick, at your fingertips companion
Download or read book What UX is Really About written by Celia Hodent and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2021-12-15 with total page 101 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In this not-too-long and easy-to-read book, author Celia Hodent presents a clear overview of the challenges, demands, and rewards of becoming a user experience professional. If this field interests you, there’s no better place to start than with the volume you now hold in your hand." Alan Cooper, Ancestry Thinker, Software Alchemist, Regenerative Rancher, Author of The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity The main objective of What UX is Really About: Introducing a Mindset for Great Experiences is to provide a quick introduction to user experience (UX 101) for students, professionals, or simply curious readers who want to understand this trendy yet commonly misunderstood practice better. Readers will learn that UX is much more than a set of techniques, guidelines, and tools. It is a mindset; a philosophy that takes the perspective of the humans that will use a product. It is about solving their problems, offering them a pleasurable experience, and building a win-win, long-lasting relationship between them and the company developing the product. Above all, it is about improving people’s lives with technology. What UX is Really About is informative, concise, and provides readers with a high-level overview of the science, design, and methodologies of UX. KEY FEATURES: • The most approachable and concise introduction book about UX. • Easy to read and aims to popularize the UX mindset while debunking its main misconceptions. • Small format size makes it easy to carry around. • Includes content relatable and meaningful to the readers by taking many examples from everyday life with a conversational and light writing style. • Tackles the psychology, design, research, process, strategy, and ethics behind offering the best experience with products, systems, or services. • Includes a glossary. Celia Hodent holds a PhD in psychology, and is a leading expert in the application of cognitive science and psychology to product development, with over 13 years of experience in the development of UX strategy in video game studios, such as Ubisoft, LucasArts, and Epic Games (Fortnite). She currently leads an independent UX consultancy, working with a wide range of international media and enterprise companies to help ensure their products are engaging, successful, and respectful of users. Celia conducts workshops and provides guidance on the topics of game-based UX, playful learning ("gamification"), ethics, implicit biases, and inclusion in tech. Celia is the author of The Gamer’s Brain: How Neuroscience and UX Can Impact Video Game Design and The Psychology of Video Games.
Download or read book About Face 3 written by Alan Cooper and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2012-06-12 with total page 650 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This completely updated volume presents the effective and practical tools you need to design great desktop applications, Web 2.0 sites, and mobile devices. You’ll learn the principles of good product behavior and gain an understanding of Cooper’s Goal-Directed Design method, which involves everything from conducting user research to defining your product using personas and scenarios. Ultimately, you’ll acquire the knowledge to design the best possible digital products and services.
Download or read book Essentials of Tourism written by Chris Cooper and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2020-11-04 with total page 675 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Will robots take over serving us in hotels? Will flight shaming prevent us travelling in the future? How has the rise of social media impacted upon tourism marketing? – and what has been the impact of airbnb on tourism cities? For answers to these and many other contemporary tourism questions, simply turn to the third edition of Essentials of Tourism by Chris Cooper. From artificial intelligence, robotics and digital marketing to assessing the impact of events, every tourism student will find this book essential reading for not only grasping the key issues but applying them to real problems faced by professionals in the tourism industry. The book includes many new case studies from every continent around the world including cases to give you a truly global approach to how tourism theory can be applied in an international context. This is combined with a lively and accessible writing style which will support and guide you through how tourism has been affected and will continue to be shaped by technology, changing government policy and sustainability concerns. Key features of the new edition: ′Focus on Technology′ and ′Focus on Employment′ boxes included in every chapter. Three current case studies included in each chapter to bring context to the reader. Classic papers - introduces students to relevant academic research and refers to the selected paper throughout the chapter.
Download or read book A Project Guide to UX Design written by Russ Unger and published by New Riders. This book was released on 2012-03-23 with total page 558 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: User experience design is the discipline of creating a useful and usable Web site or application that’s easily navigated and meets the needs of the site owner and its users. There’s a lot more to successful UX design than knowing the latest Web technologies or design trends: It takes diplomacy, management skills, and business savvy. That’s where the updated edition of this important book comes in. With new information on design principles, mobile and gestural interactions, content strategy, remote research tools and more, you’ll learn to: Recognize the various roles in UX design, identify stakeholders, and enlist their support Obtain consensus from your team on project objectives Understand approaches such as Waterfall, Agile, and Lean UX Define the scope of your project and avoid mission creep Conduct user research in person or remotely, and document your findings Understand and communicate user behavior with personas Design and prototype your application or site Plan for development, product rollout, and ongoing quality assurance
Download or read book The Timeless Way of Building written by Christopher Alexander and published by New York : Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1979 with total page 588 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This introductory volume to Alexander's other works, A Pattern of Language and The Oregon Experiment, explains concepts fundamental to his original approaches to the theory and application of architecture.
Download or read book Software for Use written by Larry L. Constantine and published by Pearson Education. This book was released on 1999-04-07 with total page 729 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the quest for quality, software developers have long focused on improving the internal architecture of their products. Larry L. Constantine--who originally created structured design to effect such improvement--now joins with well-known consultant Lucy A. D. Lockwood to turn the focus of software development to the external architecture. In this book, they present the models and methods of a revolutionary approach to software that will help programmers deliver more usable software--software that will enable users to accomplish their tasks with greater ease and efficiency. Recognizing usability as the key to successful software, Constantine and Lockwood provide concrete tools and techniques that programmers can employ to meet that end. Much more than just another set of rules for good user-interface design, this book guides readers through a systematic software development process. This process, called usage-centered design, weaves together two major threads in software development methods: use cases (also used with UML) and essential modeling. With numerous examples and case studies of both conventional and specialized software applications, the authors illustrate what has been shown in practice to work and what has proved to be of greatest practical value. Highlights Presents a streamlined process for developing highly usable software Describes practical methods and models successfully implemented in industry Complements modern development practices, including the Unified Process and other object-oriented software engineering approaches
Download or read book What Ux Is Really About written by Celia Hodent and published by . This book was released on 2021-12-15 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The main objective of What UX is Really About: Introducing a Mindset for Great Experiences is to provide a quick introduction to user experience (UX 101) for students, professionals, or simply curious readers who want to understand this trendy yet commonly misunderstood practice.
