Software for Use: A Practical Guide to the Models and Methods of Usage-Centered Design (paperback)

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.

A software design process is first presented that's centered 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 intuitable interfaces (often by rethinking time-honored Windows conventions).

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 organize 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 software or Web sites. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Design processes; help systems and error messages; and interface creation for novice, intermediate, and advanced users.