The Business-Case Book

I intended to write a very different book from this one: a how-to book about the interaction-design process. Instead, in May 1997 on a family visit to Tuscany, my friends Don McKinney and Dave Carlick talked me into this one. They convinced me that I needed to address a business audience first.

They knew I wanted to write a how-to design book, and although they were encouraging they expressed their doubts about the need for interaction design, and they wanted me to write a book to convince them of its value. Their argument was intriguing, but I was unsure that I could write the book they wanted.

Late one night on the veranda of our shared ochre villa overlooking Firenze, I was having an earnest conversation with Dave and Don. Several empty bottles of Chianti stood on the table, along with the remains of some bread, cheese, and olives. The stars shone brightly, the fireflies danced over the lawn, and the lights on the ancient domes of the Tuscan capital twinkled in the distance. Once again, Dave suggested that I postpone the idea of a how-to book on design and instead "make the business case for interaction design."

I protested vigorously, "But Dave, I don't know how to write that book." I ticked off the reasons on my fingertips. "It means that I'd have to explain things like how the current development process is messed up, how companies waste money on inefficient software construction, how unsatisfied customers are fickle, and how a better design process can solve that."

Dave interrupted me to say simply, "They're called chapters, Alan."

His remark stopped me dead in my tracks. I realized that I was reciting an old script, and that Dave was right. A book that made "the business case" was necessary and more timely than a book that explained "how to." And both Dave and Don convinced me that I really could write such a book.