Alan Cooper

Alan Cooper is best known as the "Father of VisualBasic." Also the father of CooperInteractionDesign.

He is the author of "AboutFace".

For a web page worth the time, see http://www.cooper.com/alan/alan_cooper.html.

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Published "TheInmatesAreRunningTheAsylum" in 1999, which explains why many people feel like smashing their computers.

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Recent interview between KentBeck and AlanCooper discussing XP and InteractionDesign - see http://www.fawcette.com/interviews/beck_cooper/. Discussion at CooperVsBeck.

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Neither of his books are available on the web even though 100% of computer science literature is.

Hmm. I'm studying CS, and I seem to be buying course literature all the time. Where may I find DonKnuth's book online?

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The very fact that he doesn't distinguish between interaction design and methodology of interaction design is evidence that he doesn't do interaction design.

Isn't it rather the other way around? He has been working with this in the field for years, and has summarized his practical knowledge in his books, without being very strict about drawing lines between theory and practice, which a real methodologist would.

Actually, AlanCooper doesn't even see himself as a designer. He sees himself as an inventor and CooperInteractionDesign is just one more of his inventions. Cooper's work "in the field" was managing a group of designers, not doing design work.

CategoryAuthor CategoryInteractionDesign