Software For Use: A Practical Guide to the Models and Methods of Usage-Centered Design Book

For anyone who designs applications or Web pages professionally Software For Use provides an appealingly written guide to user interface design. This book delivers many valuable insights on improving interfaces for both desktop applications and Web sites. The first software design process presented centres on usability (with terms like "user roles", "use cases" and "interaction contexts"). Early sections have much to say about inadequate interfaces (using a number of Windows examples) and how to improve them. The book presents an argument for creating innovative and intuition-driven interfaces--often by re-thinking time-honoured conventions of Windows. The most provocative material here is the coverage of the Internet. The book argues that many Web sites sacrifice usability for visual razzle-dazzle and it offers ways to organise Web sites for better usability. (A section on embedded devices looks at UI issues for these systems too.) A full case study of a user interface design for a corporate address book is included. Software For Use makes a good case that there is room for improvement in today's user interfaces. This book is sure to be a valuable resource for anyone serious about improving the user's experience of their software or Web site. --Richard Dragan Topics covered: Design processes; help systems and error messages; and interface creation for novice, intermediate, and advanced users.Read More