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Summary:
The Inmates Are Running The Asylum points out that programmers are running the show most of the time when it comes to designing how a user interacts with a program. The author shows that this will have negative consequences on the finished product. This could either be because the programmers are taking shortcuts when designing the interactions or, most likely, programmers misinterpret what would be best for the users.
Programmers tend to have a different mindset than average computer users. Programmers want power and control at the expense that an application could be more complex to interact with. Most people would rather give up the power to have a simpler interaction with a computer. Programmers do not understand this and it is a mistake to let them design the interaction. You need to bring in people who know how to design interactions.
Discussion:
While I like that this book pointed out that programmers are selfish when they program and tend to program what they would want in a program, I did not like that the book did not give much hope to programmers. Looking back, I can see that I usually assumed that what I thought was best for me would tend to be best for everyone. But looking forward, I would like to think that I can approach designs from a casual user's perspective now that I know to do that. I do not like that the author suggests bringing in interaction designers instead of teaching the programmers who are willing to learn.
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The book was totally written toward not programmers, but they did talk about programmers a lot. I think that this book should be required reading in software engineering and they should have to leave a billion comments on a trillion blogs.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the book gave no hope to programmers. I think it was more like programmers are overworked. Without having a dedicated design team, they must bear the work of the design processes. Or, at the least, it must be delegated to someone that is already doing something else. I thought the point was that the design process has to be handled by a separate team of people.
ReplyDeleteI agree - the audience seemed a little funny and I had to question what direction the authors were trying to take. I think the methods and concepts were wonderful, but the book on the whole could have been better if it had focused on an audience.
ReplyDeletePerhaps, a persona...
Programmers are so stupid though. How can you expect to teach them anything? Regardless, design is more of an art. To teach a programmer to design would be like teaching an artist to program. It can be done, but it takes far more effort and money than it's worth. If the programmer wants to design, they need to take it upon them self to learn how.
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