BKTRBCMP.RVW   950605
 
%A   Thomas K. Landauer
%C   55 Hayward Street, Cambridge, MA   02142-1399
%D   1995
%G   0-262-12186-7
%I   The MIT Press
%O   U$27.50 curtin@mit.edu
%P   425
%T   "The Trouble with Computers"
"The Trouble with Computers", Thomas K. Landauer, 1995, 0-262-12186-7, U$27.50
 
Oh yes, we got Trouble!
Right here in Silicon Valley!
With a capital "T" and that rhymes with "P"
And that stands for Design!  (Poor Design!)
 
Landauer has compiled an impressive collection of studies and statistics to
show that computers are not contributing to productivity as they ought. 
Liberally sprinkled with computer horror stories occurring to his friends,
family, and self, both anecdotes and academics point out what readers of the
RISKS-FORUM Digest know already--we are using computers the wrong way.
 
Over and over again, we see instances of bad design.  Devices and interfaces
that are unusable.  Mission-critical tasks entrusted to insufficiently reliable
machines.  Whole systems viewed only from the output end.  About halfway
through the book, the statement is made that computers are marvelous toys: 
this is quite true.  The trouble is that the majority of computer owners are
demanding more frills on their toys, drowning out the faint cries of those who
need more design in their tools.
 
Landauer's solution is UCD, an acronym that stands for three variations on
"user-centred design".  This sounds a lot like human factors engineering or, as
we highly technical types refer to it, doing a good job.
 
Anyone involved in the implementation or support of technology knows that bad
designs abound, and that more care should be taken to improve usability.  This
work does not offer significant help in that direction.
 
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1995   BKTRBCMP.RVW   950605

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