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The Elements of Friendly Software Design

by Paul Heckel (Author)

5

A classic of software design that definitively lays out software design as a communications craft. Heckel details, among other things, 30 principles of effective user communication. Along the way he provides a wealth of illustrative details from every type of artistic endeavor from Picasso to D.W. Griffith to Walt Disney Studios to Xerox PARC.

ISBN-10

0782115381
ISBN-13

978-0782115383
Publisher

Sybex Inc
Publication date

January 1, 1994
Language

English
Dimensions

6.25 x 1 x 8.5 inches
Print length

320 pages
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sybex Inc (January 1, 1994)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0782115381
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0782115383
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.01 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,141,617 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #7,720 in Computer Software (Books)
- #7,841 in Computer Science (Books)
- #90,545 in Unknown

Customer Reviews:
5

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4.3 out of 5

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Jingyu Li

A timeless book, a fun reading!

Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2003

This is one of the few timeless technical books. I got this book many years ago, I still kept it on my shelf and flip through it occasionally. Unlike most other high-tech books, this book was written in a fun way with a much broader view. It relates the software development process to the process of creating other communication craft: a movie, a fine art, or a good writing. Revise is the nature of this process. I once used the point I learned from this book successfully convinced my boss(es) at that time to do user interface rapid prototyping.

6 people found this helpful

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Joseph Reddy

It's good, not great, but worth reading at a decent price

Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2009

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This book kind of reads like a precursor to About Face. The book has a lot of the same ideas like knowing the user, metaphors, and mental models. It was an easy read, including the author's thinly-related essay on getting his patents recognized by large corporations that were infringing. I would say the author's main focus about design was that it is all about communication. I agree 100%. In my own studies and writing I have come to the same conclusion and the book just felt like more validation. Effective communication is what makes things work. Whether it is advertising, movies, books, user interfaces, or written code, communicating clearly allows everything else to happen naturally and with less friction. The book does not offer direct examples of how to use radio buttons or when to use a drop down list versus a list box, etc. That's not the point. Rather it really is just essay after essay covering 25+ elements of design. Regardless of whether you are developing a user interface, coding a method, or designing the handle of a car door, the elements should be understood.

2 people found this helpful

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Exodus Development

A great book on software as communications craft

Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2004

I find this book to be one of the best I've read & applied to my craft.
Worth reading and re-reading, it collects pearls of wisdom from many sources, and relates what we do with what has been done before in other, related communications forms.

4 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Eduardo Pereira

The book is almost 20 years old and I have received it so preserved it could be new!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 7, 2016

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Product:
The book is almost 20 years old and I have received it so preserved it could be new!

Content:
Haven't started to read yet. I bought it after a recommendation from a usability expert. One of the main comments was that even though the book is old, the concepts are based on things that won't get old (movies, theater, etc).

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