The Inmates Are Running the Asylum - Hardcover

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 huge amounts of money, squander customer loyalty, and erode competitive advantage. They have let the inmates run the asylum. Alan Cooper 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.

Alan Cooper is a software author and visionary whose industry credits include creating the visual programming interface for Microsoft's Visual Basic. His one-man crusade for better design in the '90s has evolved into the Cooper Interactive Design firm, which he founded in 1992. As an industry leader, he is frequently speaking at computer conferences such as VBITS as well as meeting with industry leaders to provide guidance and direction.