Books


Here is a list of some helpful books:

About Face 2.0: The Essentials of Interaction Design by Alan Cooper and Robert Reimann (Wiley, 2003)

One of the most popular books about usability, written by Alan Cooper (he’s the guy who invented Visual Basic), this book has recently been completely rewritten. The original edition came out in 1995. The second edition is now available.

The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity by Alan Cooper (Sams, 1999)

This is a classic book that doesn’t include many screenshots because it simply talks about issues and problems in software. It includes some rather shocking stories, such as how a computer caused a plane to crash when the pilot typed something wrong into it. Scary stuff, and it definitely makes you think about how computers impact our lives.

Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman (Basic Books, 2004)

This book is a rewrite of a true classic (originally called The Design of Everyday Things), and all engineers should buy it, regardless of whether they are mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, software engineers, train engineers, domestic engineers, or whatever.

The Invisible Computer: Why Good Products Can Fail, the Personal Computer Is So Complex, and Information Appliances Are the Solution, reprint edition, by Donald A. Norman (MIT Press, 1999)

Another book by the same author as the classic The Design of Everyday Things, it focuses on the complexity issues behind computer-operated devices.

The Humane Interface: New Directions for Designing Interactive Systems by Jef Raskin (Addison-Wesley, 2000)

Jef Raskin is one of the original designers of the Macintosh GUI, and so he’s certainly been working in GUIs for a long time. In this book he covers ergonomics, navigation, and many other issues. Some people have accused him of being a bit extreme, but like most of us, he has his ideas and they are worth listening to.

Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug and Roger Black (Que, 2000)

This is a fantastic book that has done quite well; it provides specific guides to creating web pages and websites that are highly usable. Although the information focuses on the Web, much of it carries over to software in general.

Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity by Jakob Nielsen (New Riders, 2000)

Jakob Nielsen is one of the gurus in the field of usability, and anything he has written would be an excellent choice to read. This book focuses on the Web. However, be forewarned that some graphic artists tend to disagree completely with some of his fundamental arguments, primarily because he focuses on the Web as a medium for conveying information, not a medium for pretty graphics.

GUI Bloopers by Jeff Johnson (Morgan Kaufmann, 2000)

This excellent book (and a big seller) focuses primarily on what people are doing wrong in their software. At times it gets a bit too specific on the do’s and don’ts, in my opinion, but I find that it makes a great reference guide to have on your desk.




Designing Highly Useable Software
Designing Highly Useable Software
ISBN: 0782143016
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 114

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