Book Review: Developing User Interfaces: Ensuring Usability Through Product and Process by Deborah Hix and H. Rex Hartson (John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1993)

Abstract

The focus of this book is on 'design for usability'. In the Foreword James Foley writes: "This is one of the first books to emphasize process and it fits brief discussions of the other issues into the process framework. Similarly, it is one of the first books to elaborate on the important theme that user interface development must be an integral part of the overall software engineering process and not an add-on or afterthought" (p. vii). These are ambitious aims and ones that do indeed make 'Developing User Interfaces' different from most other currently published books on HCI. Furthermore, this book is written for a broad readership of: practitioners from a range of different backgrounds such as software engineers, programmers, software quality-assurance specialists trainers, technical writers, systems analysts, marketing personnel and managers as well as interaction designers; researchers in Human-Computer Interaction; and teachers and students, who study user interface development at undergraduate and master's level.