The Inmates Are Running the Asylum 1st Edition

by Alan Cooper (Author)

266 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0672316494

ISBN-10: 0672316498

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The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity
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Armed with solutions to the dilemma of how dependent every one of us is becoming on electronic products, the author argues that, despite appearances, business executives are simply not in control of the high-tech industry. He explains how talented people continuously design bad technology-based products and uses his own work to show businesses of all sizes how to harness talent to create products that will both thrill users and grow the bottom line. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In this book about the darker side of technology's impact on our lives, Alan Cooper begins by explaining that unlike other devices throughout history, computers have a "meta function:" an unwanted, unforeseen option that users may accidentally invoke with what they thought was a normal keystroke. Cooper details many of these meta functions to explain his central thesis: programmers need to seriously reevaluate the many user-hostile concepts deeply embedded within the software development process.

Rather than provide users with a straightforward set of options, programmers often pile on the bells and whistles and ignore or deprioritize lingering bugs. For the average user, increased functionality is a great burden, adding to the recurrent chorus that plays, "computers are hard, mysterious, unwieldy things." (An average user, Cooper asserts, who doesn't think that way or who has memorized all the esoteric commands and now lords it over others, has simply been desensitized by too many years of badly designed software.)

Cooper's writing style is often overblown, with a pantheon of cutesy terminology (i.e., "dancing bearware") and insider back-patting. (When presenting software to Bill Gates, he reports that Gates replied: "How did you do that?" to which he writes, "I love stumping Bill!") More seriously, he is also unable to see beyond software development's importance--a sin he accuses programmers of throughout the book.

Even with that in mind, the central questions Cooper asks are too important to ignore: Are we making users happier? Are we improving the process by which they get work done? Are we making their work hours more effective? Cooper looks to programmers, business managers, and what he calls "interaction designers" to question current assumptions and mindsets. Plainly, he asserts that the goal of computer usage should be "not to make anyone feel stupid." Our distance from that goal reinforces the need to rethink entrenched priorities in software planning. --Jennifer Buckendorff

From the Back Cover

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 that waste huge amounts of money, squander customer loyalty, and erode competitive advantage. They have let the inmates run the asylum. Alan Cooper offers a provocative, insightful and entertaining explanation of how talented people continuously design bad software-based products. More importantly, he uses his own work with companies big and small to show how to harness those talents to create products that will both thrill their users and grow the bottom line.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sams; 1st edition (April 1, 1999)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 261 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0672316498
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0672316494
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.45 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1 x 9.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #219,968 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #57 in Information Theory
- #127 in Personal Computer Books
- #192 in Information Management (Books)

Customer Reviews:
266 ratings

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5 star		68%
4 star		14%
3 star		12%
2 star		5%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Rajiv Narula

Good content . Could use more positivity though

Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2020

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TL\DR:
Good content. Glad I read it. I am appreciative of the work Alan has done.
The messaging could have been better.

I almost didn't complete the book, but I am glad I did.
It was only halfway through I realized Alan Cooper is the guy behind "personas", something that I have been using for quite some time now.

This book is full of useful ideas around design, personas, and lots of useful anecdotes. I think- everyone who is involved in software development would benefit from reading this book.

What I didn't appreciate was-
The whole negativity in the book. I know things suck in software industry, but then where does it not?
Not a very inspiring tone.
At times the book almost had a feel of "wrenching" the control away from developers into "interaction developers" where it really belongs. Very quickly- that became old.

3 people found this helpful

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V. Shah

Read it for the smart stuff, but ignore the stupid stuff

Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2013

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The author has a lot of important things to say about the importance of design in software, and the many ways in which good design is sabotaged by management, programmers, deadlines, conventional thinking, tradition, lethargy, and sloth. Fighting these influences to achieve excellently designed products is incredibly important, and incredibly difficult, and the author makes this case well.

Where he goes totally off the rails is when he attacks stereotypes instead of people. He claims that every programmer thinks that he is different and can cross between coding and interaction design -- but none of them can. It turns out that he means that he was the first, and the last, one to be able to do so, because he is God. He claims that graphic designers are there to pretty up an interaction designers designs -- while ignoring the true amount of collaboration that has to be achieved between graphic design, interaction design, and programming to achieve any excellent software. His solution to bad design is to listen to nobody but the designer. (He never mentions the possibility of a subpar interaction designer.)

Finally he spends a lot of time attacking various management structures that are found at Microsoft and companies who mimic Microsoft. Well, I have worked in the NYC tech scene for 20+ years, and nobody here gives a damn about Microsoft's management practices. In the years since the book came out, it has turned out that nobody anywhere cares about Microsoft management practices anymore. It just felt like another rant about something that is relevant to nobody.

But if you wade through the extremist ranting, there really are useful messages and examples throughout the book. It's worth reading if you're in the business of making software.

12 people found this helpful

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Lorne Bailey

Good Book for Understanding Challenges of Designing User Friendly Technologies

Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2014

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While I agree with many things Alan Cooper says about the challenges of designing user friendly technologies for normal end users, I think his attitude is a bit pessimistic about how engineers and programmers design technologies that are yet to come... I think it is better to encourage Universities and Colleges to require a certain amount of technical support and customer support courses in additional to standard social sciences courses required for a typical science major for Engineering and computer science students to graduate... This should also be required for any student who hopes to get into any field of study where work in this field would affect end users of products and services rendered to them. Engineers and Technical workers need to take responsibility for their work and help end users with their products. Furthermore, licensing for Engineers and Technical workers should not only require ability to design products and technologies (i.e. traditional assessment materials), but also require ability to communicate effectively with end users and support their products and technologies. This might be a great book for young students in high school and college who want to study Engineering, IT Services, Computer Sciences or related fields.

5 people found this helpful

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Robert Bates

From a software engineer's perspective, this book is fairly ...

Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2018

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From a software engineer's perspective, this book is fairly on point. However, it does come off a bit as an extended personal rant against engineers involved in the design of devices and systems the author has interacted with and only provides perfunctory guidance on how to improve things. Suggested read from an HCI professor, it makes a point but isn't as informative as one would hope.

2 people found this helpful

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Alex Stockdale

Worth the time and money

Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 1999

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Cooper has done a good job of pointing out common problems in software design. The book is well written, with interesting examples and anecdotes to illustrate the author's points. While most of the book focuses on "off the shelf" products, I think the author's arguments are even more relevant to custom software development. If you already believe that software is poorly designed, this book is unlikely to be a revalation to you. It will, however, give you some ammunition to use in discussions with "apologists".
I agree with the earlier reviewer, who said that the people most needing to read it probably won't. This would seem to be a great book for development managers and purchasers of software, but I think the only people likely to read the whole thing are professional developers.
I have two criticisms of the book (for which I give it 4 out of 5 stars): too often it comes across as an advertisement for the author's company; and I would have appreciated more "how-to" information. To this latter point, the author himself says in his preface that he had intended to write a "how-to" book, but was talked into writing a "business case" book instead. I hope that he will soon follow up this effort with the planned "how-to" book.
A final question -- what is with these 1 star reviews? I've read a few of them now, for different books, and I have to question whether the reviewer has even read the book. If so, they seem to have completely missed the point. At the very least, if giving a 1 star review, please provide some detailed criticisms so I can decide whether I am likely to share your opinion.

8 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Kat

I love this book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 9, 2018

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I love this book, I think everyone doing anything do to with digital products should read it, very funny too, but so true!

2 people found this helpful

Vale

A must read for any developer

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 16, 2020

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Great stories that are easy to remember. A must-read for every developer.

Pascoe

Excellent information aggressively presented

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 22, 2005

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This book provides a wealth of knowledge if you can stick with it through the generalisations and attacks on the group of people who need this book the most.
Something Mr Cooper talks about is people not knowing their customers, but falls into this trap himself. While the book may have been written with managers and project leaders in mind, many developers will read it as a means of improving themselves.
With this in mind, writing a book that often hints at poor interface design being a deliberate attack on users, and in some places implies that software is hard to use because programmers are getting back at people because they were picked on in high school might be a little silly. This kind of hyperbole is not helpful in getting the message across, and will not help business people further understand their staff.
Helping business people understand that different people have different skills and getting the right person for the job will deliver better results than forcing someone to do a job they are not suited for would have been a better result. As it is, I can see how some PHBs would come away from this book believing that they produce bad software because their developers hate them, rather than because they have poor processes and do not invest enough time and money in the right places.

9 people found this helpful

James Christie

Important lessons for software engineers

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 20, 2007

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This is a highly readable and entertaining rant directed against the inadequate development practices of software engineers over the years.

I am one of the geeks that Cooper targets, but I think I'm sufficiently self aware to know that his point is entirely justified. Building workable, usable applications on time and on budget is a fiendishly difficult problem. Pretty well all of the effort in improving our working practices has focussed on getting our job done more efficiently and predictably so that customers get their applications in reasonable time and at a reasonable cost. We've always been pretty clueless about the human side, making sure that the applications can be used easily and efficiently. That, of course, has great practical and financial consequences, but the cost is often hidden from the developers who have moved on to screw up elsewhere.

Cooper sometimes overdoes his argument, and minimises the real, practical problems involved in applying his techniques. His insistence on calling all developers as "programmers" is a bit irritating, but I can accept that as a stylistic quirk rather than evidence of ignorance of software engineering.

I'd strongly recommend this to software developers who are starting to have doubts about whether they're really delivering what users need. Of course, the ones who have no doubts are the ones who really need to read this book, but I suspect they wouldn't even pick it up, and they's throw it aside after the first few pages if they did give it a go. Pity.

One person found this helpful

Chas Newport (NRTFM)

I can save you some time here..

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 2, 2004

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Skim parts I-III it's a diatribe on what's wrong.
Read Part IV several times and take notes as it gives solutions to the identified problems and is actually really good.
Skim the rest...
For a man promoting that less is more he could do with applying his own advice to the new edition of this book...

10 people found this helpful