The inmates are running the asylum
by Cooper, Alan · first published 1999
57% recommend37% neutral6% critical
Why HN recommends it
Shows developers why high-tech products frustrate users and how to design for specific intended users and usage, using personas. Recommended for programmers, designers and product people who want a new perspective on UX.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Imagine, at a terrifyingly aggressive rate, everything you regularly use is being equipped with computer technology. Think about your phone, cameras, cars - everything - being automated and programmed by people who in their rush to accept the many benefits of the silicon chip, have abdicated their responsibility to make these products easy to use. The Inmates are Running the Asylum argues that, despite appearances, business executives are simply not the ones in control of the high-tech industry. They have inadvertently put programmers and engineers in charge, leading to products and processes
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> Poor design. Seriously. Simplicity is really really hard. Much harder than throwing a ton of settings, toggles, and switches at a user. I think this is the key reason why "The Inmates are Running the Asylum." http://www.amazon.com/The-Inmates-Are-Running-Asylum/dp/0672... We programmers are much more immune to complexity than the average person. It's like when I was buying a flute at Seattle Folklife.…
on “Screw the power users” ↗…slightly hazy memory here, so pardon inexactness if there is one). How is that better than just whacking the button for the preset # on the radio? A must read-book for any techie, in my opinion, is "The Inmates Are Running the Asylum" by Alan Cooper. It gave me a new perspective on computing. If you do any kind of software design that is used by a human, you must read it. So that book starts out with "Riddles for the Information…
on “The best interface is no interface” ↗For a more thorough treatment of this topic, read Alan Cooper's classic book _The Inmates are Running the Asylum_ http://www.amazon.com/Inmates-Are-Running-Asylum-Products/dp... Cooper first writes something we all like to hear: programmers actually control the fate of most high tech businesses. But then he makes…
on “Signs of a Programmer Created UI” ↗This and The Inmates are Running the Asylum by Alan Cooper could go a long way to improving UI abilities, I think.
on “Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?” ↗…one "writes" software. After lots of probably very annoying begging, I was given a book on either COBOL or FORTRAN from the ~60s. It wasn't super helpful. The last book I borrowed (Alan Cooper's The Inmates are Running the Asylum on UX design, which I found compelling) was lost after I dropped it in the bin. I was fined $104, and upon contacting them was given customer service rivaling comcast's. Until I pay that ridiculous cost…
on ““The books will stop working.”” ↗The requirements seem a bit unclear to me, but I'll toss a couple of titles into the ring: The Inmates Are Running the Asylum (Alan Cooper) makes the case that user interfaces can and should be easier to understand. I think in the years since this book was written, there has been much improvement in the UI world overall, but…
on “Ask HN: Most interesting, mildly impractical, well-written books on software?” ↗This is a must read: The Inmates are Running the Asylum by Alan Cooper http://www.amazon.com/Inmates-Are-Running-Asylum-Products/dp...
on “Ask news YC: Your best sources to learn about design & usability” ↗…implementing it. (In Joel's article, it is what Charles Simonyi was trying to define as program manager.) Once again, this is not the same as someone who provides a functional design spec. Alan Cooper's The Inmates Are Running the Asylum does a really good job drawing out and describing that distinction between the areas of functional vs technical design (although if I recall he uses different terminology to describe the two but the same…
on “How to be a program manager” ↗…find a decent alarm clock that didn't totally suck in terms of usability, I agree. I've also had 3 digital TV receivers that all were atrocious too. Only word of warning would be to read Alan Cooper's inmates are running the asylum first, he has some spot on observations about how modern electronics are treated like computers (e.g. ovens that are hard to use, even though the old analog design, a dial with markings on, worked)
on “Want to improve your odds? Think hardware” ↗The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry The Inmates Are Running the Asylum by Alan Cooper
on “Ask HN: Please name two of your most favorite books.” ↗This analogy has been explored in "The Inmates Are Running the Asylum" book by Alan Cooper. It's a good book, despite some deserved criticism ( http://sheddingbikes.com/posts/1285436217.html ) it raised.
on “Thinking of your software as a butler is difficult but important” ↗To me, a turning point in my feelings on UX was reading Alan Cooper's "The Inmates are Running the Asylum" [1]. It's a little anti-engineer (he argues that engineers cannot do this right and you always need dedicated UX people), but he explains core interaction design principles very well. E.g., he draws…
on “Ask HN: Recommendations for learning and improving UX/UI skills?” ↗…os". Maybe I misunderstood that part because it sounds like a recipe for disaster :) http://channel9.msdn.com/Series/VisualStudioDocumentary/The-... I give great kudos to Alan Cooper, his book "The Inmates are running the asylum" was a paradigm shift for me. Once you've read it you have a little Alan inside your head for the rest of your life, telling you how stupid, impolite and lazy most software is. It's annoying but highly…
on “Why I am called "the Father of Visual Basic" (1996)” ↗Also found this, for those who are interested: "The Inmates Are Running the Asylum", by Alan Cooper: http://www.amazon.com/The-Inmates-Are-Running-Asylum/dp/0672...
on “Ask HN: What recreational books related to programming can you recommend?” ↗Wholeheartedly agree. I see some people here would benefit from reading, 'The Inmates Are Running the Asylum' by Alan Cooper. http://www.amazon.com/The-Inmates-Are-Running-Asylum/dp/0672...
on “UX Is a Canary in a Coal Mine” ↗