The Inmates are Running the Asylum (Cooper)

[Hannah]

Summary:
Cooper makes the case that difficult computer products emerge out of a faulty development process, that lacks involvement of trained interaction designers using a goal-centric approach. He argues for a dedicated design process in the development lifecycle that can add value and desirability into a product before it is built. Programmers, he argued, cannot successfully design easy-to-use products "for the simple reason that the goals of the programmer and the goals of the user are dramatically different." (p. 18)

He outlines how using personas and goal-oriented processes (as opposed to task-oriented) can transform a product's usability and desirability, which then translates better to market success.

"Interaction design makes your product desirable, conferring on it the singular advantage of customer loyalty. After you make a customer happy with your product, he will stick with your company and your brand for a long time. If your product is merely dancing bearware, your customers will be quietly casting their eyes around, looking for easier, friendlier alternatives." (p. 242)

[Hannah]

While I agreed with many of the points and arguments Cooper made in this book, I felt he was being a bit too harsh on programmers. While I agree that often times developers fall into the trap of designing for themselves rather than average computer users, I don't think this mistake is intentional. Often times, I think they would prefer someone else take over the interaction aspects, but constraints in time and budget from the business side often don't allow that.