Why designers can't understand their users, book

developing a systematic approach using cognitive psychology

Why are computers difficult to use? It is so easy to design a userfriendly computer. Don't blame technicians, designers and managers. Blame cognitive psychology. The conclusions are based on experiments with train ticket vending machines and trains indicators. A typical European view on the application of cognitive psychology.

222 pages, 38 euro, third edition,
ISBN: 9789080997516.
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.1797.8483

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Why designers can“t understand their users, developing a systematic approach using cognitive psychology, usability

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Book			Title pages Cover and colophon. Click for more. Met klik meer.
Book			Summary, pag.203 Click for the summary. Met klik meer.
Book			Samenvatting, pag.215 Click for the summary in Dutch. Met klik meer.
Book			Table of contents, pag. 1 Click for a full table of contents. Met klik meer.
Book			Introduction, pag. 7 From the beginnings of ergonomics, in the early years of the Twentieth Century, to this book in the early years of the Twenty First Century. Click for more. Met klik meer.
Book			PART I The Problem: how to apply fundamental experimental psychological knowledge, pag. 13 The Problem: how to apply fundamental experimental psychological knowledge Met klik meer.
Book			PART II The solution: a synthesis of psychological and design concepts, pag. 25 How is it possible that we have programmable, interactive, multi-media, world wide communicating computers, that are not capable of communicating with their master. Met klik meer.
Book			PART III Experiments: better designs with the Solution? pag. 53 What Solution will make computers user-friendly? The basis is the common Man Computer separation. Met klik meer.
Book			Visual size, pag. 53 What Solution will make computers user-friendly? The basis is the common Man Computer separation. Met klik meer.
Book			Visual distance, pag. 69 Four properties are used to find an experimental answer on that question (visual size, visual distance, cognitive quantity and cognitive structure). The tasks investigated are simple every day tasks like finding a station on a ticket vending machine, noticing that a vending machine is out of order and finding a train in a list of trains on a dynamic trains indicator. The first experiment, reported in chapter 8, is an easy one. The element property: visual size that is used to improve the userfriendlyness of finding a station in an alphabetical list. Met klik meer.
Book			Cognitive quantity, pag. 95 Chapter 9 analyses a visual field property, ’visual distance’ used to improve userfriendliness of two tasks: ’Notice a vending machine is out of order” and "Notice instructions on ’how to insert a banknote’." Met klik meer.
Book			Cognitive structure, pag. 115 The final experiment in chapter 11 focuses on using cognitive structure, again for the task of finding a departing train on a trains indicator. Met klik meer.
Book			Is applied cognitive psychology dead? PART IV Testing the Solution: is the Solution really better? pag. 151 It is no wonder that applied cognitive psychology has lost all of its territory to technology and design. It is no wonder that many of its soldiers defect to technology, thinking they still are psychologists. One can blame technology for the interface Problem as Norman (1990, 1998) does. One can blame management as Cooper does (1999). So far the smoke screen of science has been effective in not blaming psychology for the interface Problem. When time has blown away the smoke screen our grandchildren might well blame today's psychology for designers not understanding their users. Met klik meer.
Book			Annexes, pag. 171 Design indicator experiment 2 Random list with destinations 3 Table of contents: Software psychology 4 Table of contents: Designing the user interface 5 Structure of: A web-based handbook 6 Table of contents: Encyclopaedia of Ergonomics and Human Factors Met klik meer.
Book			References, pag. 191 Met klik meer.