domingo, febrero 28, 2010

The Inmates Are Running The Asylum

"The Inmates Are Running The Asylum: Why High-Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity" de Alan Cooper es un libro enfocado a mostrarnos problemas que trae la poca atención que se le da al diseño de un producto en la actualidad. El objetivo del libro es cambiar la visión corporativa, dejar que la gente técnica maneje el desarrollo de los productos, y agregar profesionales que se encarguen de la calidad de los mismos. No es un manual de como diseñar un producto usable y atractivo a la gente, sino está más enfocado a ser un caso de negocio para convencer a ejecutivos de implementar estas buenas prácticas.

La idea es simple, vivimos atestados de productos difíciles de usar, y amamos los productos que no nos hacen sentir como idiotas. Nos convertimos en leales seguidores de ciertas empresas que satisfacen nuestras necesidades y además nos hacen sentir bien. Esto se traduce en ventas y éxito, que es lo que toda empresa busca. Ace les dejo un pequeño resumen del libro:

Imagine, at a terrifyingly aggressive rate, everything you regularly use is being equipped with computer technology. Think about your phone, cameras, cars - everything - being automated and programmed by people who in their rush to accept the many benefits of the silicon chip, have abdicated their responsibility to make these products easy to use.
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 money, squander customer loyalty, and erode competitive advantage. Business executives have let the inmates run the asylum!
In his book The Inmates Are Running the Asylum Alan Cooper calls for revolution - we need technology to work in the same way average people think - we need to restore the sanity. He 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.

El libro es muy entretenido, y me abrió la cabeza con ciertas reflexiones del autor. Valió la pena