58 Quotes by Alan Cooper

You Don’t Have to Go Home from Work Exhausted!

Writing software is not a variable cost, but it’s not really a fixed cost either. Writing software is an ongoing, revenue-generating operation of the company, and it is not the same as constructing a factory. The expensive craftsmen who build the factory leave and go to work on some other job after the building is erected.

High cognitive friction polarizes people into two groups. It either makes them feel frustrated and stupid for failing, or giddy with power at overcoming the extreme difficulty. These powerful emotions force people into being either an “apologist” or a “survivor.” They either adopt cognitive friction as a lifestyle, or they go underground and accept it as a necessary evil. The polarization is growing acute.

Usability’s strength is in identifying problems, while design’s strength is in identifying solutions.

Homo logicus are driven by an irresistible desire to understand how things work. By contrast, Homo sapiens have a strong desire for success. Programmers also want to succeed, but they will frequently accept failure as the price to pay for understanding.

The real interaction designer’s decisions are based on what the user is trying to achieve.

Computer literacy, however, is really a euphemism for forcing human beings to stretch their thinking to understand the inner workings of application logic, rather than having software-enabled products stretch to meet people’s usual ways of thinking.

Like putting an Armani suit on Attila the Hun, interface design only tells how to dress up an existing behavior.

Sort of like the pilot saying, “We’re gonna make Chicago on time, but only if we jettison all our baggage!” I’ve seen product managers sacrifice not only design, but testing, function, features, integration, documentation, and reality. Most product managers that I have worked with would rather ship a failure on time than risk going late.