The Inmates are Running the Asylum Ch 1-2

Reference Information
Title: The Inmates are Running the Asylum
Author: Alan Cooper
Publisher: Sams Publishing

Summary
Chapter 1 presented "riddles", such as "What do you get when you cross a computer with an airplane?" or "What do you get when you cross a computer with a car?". Each of the riddles was given the answer: a computer. The author gave examples for each of the situations, such as a computer-based navigational system within an airplane, and perils associated with bad design of such a system. The author also introduced the term "software apartheid", defining it as the situation where normal people are forbidden from entering the job market and participating in society due to the fact that they can't use computers effectively.

Computer + Plane = Computer
Source: www.visualphotos.com

Chapter 2 discussed cognitive friction, defined as the resistance encountered by a human intellect when it engages with a complex system of rules that change as the problem changes. Such problems occur with things such as metadata that occur in program design. Interaction design is compared with interface design (suggests only passing messages to users), behavioral design (how elements of software should act and communicate), and conceptual design (considering what's valuable to users). The chapter then discussed how designers and programmers tend to add more features because of the virtual lack of cost.


Discussion
From the title of this book, it sounded a bit more interesting that it actually is. But I did like how the author used the metaphor of inmates in a prison, comparing inmates with programmers. If inmates were in charge of their own prison, it would be disastrous; therefore, the author says that when programmers are in charge of their own projects, the results are also disastrous. These chapters were pretty interesting, but it just seems to be saying many of the same things that Donald Norman said over and over again in his design books that we've read. Maybe if this information had been new, it would have been more interesting. Once again, I think that some of the ideas suggested in these chapters could be easily and helpfully adapted to our capstone project, such as keeping in mind the fact that designing our project just for ourselves may not lead to the best product possible. It would be helpful for us to consult non-technical people, or even just non-computer science majors, to see how easy to use they think our program is. They could have some very helpful advice for us that we are currently unable to see due to our level of immersion in the project.