<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: A good undergra review of methods and bkgnd of HCI
Review: I have used this book in my course in Usability and User Centered Design, and have found that the presentation and segmentation of issues in the book provides a good framework to teach the concepts of HCI especially to Computer Science majors.
Rating:
Summary: The First HCI Textbook, Still Useful
Review: I've been developing user interfaces for about 20 years, and during that time, I taught user interface development for software engineers for about 12. When Preece et al came out in 1994, I thought that they had done for HCI what Pressman and Sommerville had fdone for software engineering in their widely adopted textbooks: digested the research and practice and presented the material in a pedagogically sound manner.ALthough there have been fine books in HCI theory (Card, Moran & Newell), research (Beacker et al), and practice (Shneiderman; Hix & Hartson), I felt that in 1994, and even now at the end of 2000, the Preece et al book is the best that meets the billing of a good textbook for graduate and undergraduate use. Still, I think that a student, even one with limited programming experience, can sit down with the book and learn about the field. Perhaps most importantly, the book conveys the excitement of the authors (and so many of us) for the field. Preece et al provides good historical perspective, good general coverage, but I was disapponted to find little about avenues for professional advancement (e.g., ACM SIGCHI at http://sigchi.org). I thought "Design and Analysis Methods" was the best collection of chapters, with a lot of general advice about how to manage design. The section on Evaluation was not organized as I would have expected, but the first and last chapters do a good job of introducing a rational view of evaluation and of choosing among methods. The book has many useful features, including interviews, chapter aims and objectives, key points, and further readings (some of which are becoming dated, and for which I wish they had a website. Six years after publication, I still think this is a good textbook for college, and a good overview of the field for the many practitioners in the field who lack formal training.
Rating:
Summary: The First HCI Textbook - Still Useful
Review: I've been developing user interfaces for about 20 years, and during that time, I taught user interface development for software engineers for about 12. When Preece et al came out in 1994, I thought that they had done for HCI what Pressman and Sommerville had fdone for software engineering in their widely adopted textbooks: digested the research and practice and presented the material in a pedagogically sound manner. ALthough there have been fine books in HCI theory (Card, Moran & Newell), research (Beacker et al), and practice (Shneiderman; Hix & Hartson), I felt that in 1994, and even now at the end of 2000, the Preece et al book is the best that meets the billing of a good textbook for graduate and undergraduate use. Still, I think that a student, even one with limited programming experience, can sit down with the book and learn about the field. Perhaps most importantly, the book conveys the excitement of the authors (and so many of us) for the field. Preece et al provides good historical perspective, good general coverage, but I was disapponted to find little about avenues for professional advancement (e.g., ACM SIGCHI at http://sigchi.org). I thought "Design and Analysis Methods" was the best collection of chapters, with a lot of general advice about how to manage design. The section on Evaluation was not organized as I would have expected, but the first and last chapters do a good job of introducing a rational view of evaluation and of choosing among methods. The book has many useful features, including interviews, chapter aims and objectives, key points, and further readings (some of which are becoming dated, and for which I wish they had a website, like Shneiderman's http://www.awl.com/dtui/). Six years after publication, I still think this is a good textbook for college, and a good overview of the field for the many practitioners in the field who lack formal training.
Rating: 
Summary: Content may be fine but it's poorly written and hard to read
Review: I've just started reading this book for a university course and though I've only finished one chapter, I have to say that the writing is so poor that I would not recommend this book to anyone. I find myself continually having to re-read sentences because they are oddly worded. The omission of serial commas and the lack of semicolons in many lists containing the word "and" merely add to the confusion. There are many HCI books out there, so save yourself a headache and find one that's well written.
Rating:
Summary: Note to readers about our book
Review: If you've been using this book (1994) and you want a revised edition, then take a look at our new book (2002) "Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction", jointly authored by Jenny Preece, Yvonne Rogers and Helen Sharp, published by John Wiley & Sons.
Rating:
Summary: Helpful science book
Review: This book is an apology for bad science. Design must be a serious issue, but this book handles it in an amateur manner for soft-scientists. Imagine writing down your opinions in prose and casting it as facts: now imagine these opinions being set as examinable for students who could have better spent their time watching grass grow. As the Oscars cliche goes "Half an hour of the best entertainment spread over the next four hours".
<< 1 >>
| 
