Andrewj.comObserver
Architect
Developer
Photographer
Traveller
Writer
Reviewer
Thoughts on the World
    • Welcome PageArchitectDeveloperPhotographerTravellerWriterObserverReviewerLinks

A Pattern Approach to Interaction Design

By Jan Borchers

Posted on 5 April 2002 by Andrew - Please share: All Addthis servicesTweet thisFacebook thisLink thisYam thisShare on Google

Summary


How do the rankings work?
Content 4/10
Readability 6/10
Presentation 7/10
Ideas 5/10
Value for money 2/10
Did it do what it said on the box? 3/10

The Review

A disappointing book but with some good ideas

This is a deeply disappointing book, typical of a field in which approbation by academic peers seems to be much more important than delivering real help to those designing real user interfaces.

I had hoped for a book dominated by a collection of patterns describing how users interact with technology, particularly computers. Instead the first 3/8 of the book is given over to an almost blow by blow account of each contribution to the development of patterns, their application to IT and finally to HCI. There is actually one important message, that patterns can aid communication not only between IT professionals, but also between professionals and users, as a way of describing both the problem domain and the proposed solution. However, this was almost buried in a detailed discussion of pattern format, which is much less
important.

I very nearly gave up reading at this point, which would have been a pity, since the central chapter of the book contains some interesting patterns, albeit of limited practical use. The "How to Play the Blues" pattern language is an entertaining demonstration of how to use patterns to describe a problem
domain, while the patterns for interactive exhibits are a good set of HCI patterns, although focusing on the interaction of regular users with business computer software would be of more general practical use. I also really liked the pattern layout, relying on typography and styles rather than headings to standardise the structure, which definitely enhanced readability.

Unfortunately the book does not sustain the interest, and after a single chapter on patterns returns to a strange and lengthy self-review, to the extent of reprinting the review comments the author received on a draft version. This is ridiculous.

The book’s malaise seems to be symptomatic of the whole discipline. The referenced web sites and books are not much better, with all but a few noble exceptions concentrating on academic discussions about patterns, rather than building a real pattern collection.

I am convinced that patterns can be really useful in the area of human-computer interaction and user interface design, just as they have been in many other areas of IT. I also think the arguments about style and format will be won by the author of the first good book that concentrates on building a comprehensive and readable set of useful real-world HCI patterns. This isn’t it.

Buy It From Amazon

Categories: Reviews. Content Types: Book and HCI Design.

This entry was posted in Reviews. Bookmark the permalink.
Previous Post: Expressive Systems
---- Next Post: IT Architectures and Middleware

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Thoughts on the World Proudly powered by WordPress.

Main Pages

Welcome Page

Architect (Consultancy services)

Developer (Services and Products)

Photographer

Traveller

Writer (Publications and Papers)

Observer (My blog)

Reviewer

Links

Blog Contents

Post Category:

Review Type:

  • Recent Posts

    • When You Wish … A Different Approach To Sourcing
    • The World’s Worst Panorama 2023
    • Rainbows Rising
    • Have I Offended El Gauchito Gil?
    • We’re Going on a Guanaco Hunt!
  • Recent Comments

    • Divitel on It’s Screen Time!
    • Mike Parnell on Camera History
    • ValueBlue on What Do I Mean by "Agile Architecture"?
    • Robert on Combining Risk Factors
    • Paul M Turner on Typically Tropical!
  • Blog Indexes

    Favourite/Major Articles

    All Articles by Category

    All Articles by Title

    Review Index

    Search

    References to www.andrewj.com

    References to www.agilearchitect.org

    Contact Me

    Email me

    @TweetAndrewJ

    Others

    Share

    Facebook

    Google

    Twitter

    Linked In

    Yammer

    Share

    Feeds

    @TweetAndrewJ

    Thoughts on the World (Main Feed)

    Main feed (direct XML)

    Professional Blog

    Photo Blog

    Photo Album

    Review pages

    About my feeds

    © Questa Computing Ltd. 1994 - 2023:
    Questa Computing Ltd. is registered in England and Wales number:2889117.
    Registered office: Coppertrees, Forest Road, Effingham, Leatherhead, KT24 5HE
    Credits, copyright details and cookie policy