Judging this book by its title, “Wrench in the System: What’s Sabotaging Your Business Software and How You Can Release the Power to Innovate” you could be forgiven if you thought this would be just another business book. It’s not. What the author, Harold Hambrose, has captured is how the software industry has wandered off the path of designing tools; the purpose of which is to meet the needs of users. In fact, through a series of business and personal examples, he shows how the software industry (and those responsible for purchasing software) has never been on the path at all.
Great review from: Rob Tannen
9:17 amHarold Hambrose’s Wrench in the System is a highly readable and cogent perspective on the lack of effective design in business software, in the spirit of Alan Cooper’s The Inmates are Running the Asylum.
Hambrose, founder of user interface consulting firm Electronic Ink, essentially lived through and helped lead the growth of user-centered design over the past 20 years, and much of the book is directly drawn from his professional experiences {Disclaimer: I formerly worked for Hambrose as Director of Human Factors at Electronic Ink].
Excerpt from Chapter 8
9:00 amTake a peek at an excerpt from Chapter 8, System Refresh:
Take a peek at an excerpt from Chapter 1, It’s Just a Product!, from Wrench in the System:
Check back next week for an excerpt from Chapter 8, System Refresh.
