"The human-computer interface of the future will not be perceived as the interface to a computer, but as a pervasive part of the environment we all inhabit. Our challenge is ... to convey to today's students of software design the underlying concepts and competencies that will not be bound either to the current GUI or to the specific details of its successors. Newman and Lamming offer a significant new step in that direction."

--From the Foreword by Terry Winograd, Stanford University

From multimedia workstations to hand-held PDAs, from VR headsets to networked PCs --the modern computer is predominantly interactive. Today's designers and software engineers need to adopt a user-centred approach to system design. Newman and Lamming present a comprehensive guide to modern design techniques using proven methods and realistic applications.

Highlights of the book include:

* A coherent framework for user-oriented design, covering all stages of development from requirements analysis to implementation and evaluation.
* A rich set of examples based on real-world data from studies of air traffic control, police detective work, medical practice, telephone operators--and more.
* Two in-depth case studies illustrating methods of usability analysis and an exercise in innovative design.
* The authors' support pages for this book , including Instructor's Guide (new 2/27/96)

System designers and software professionals will welcome the book's focus on methods which have been tried and tested in real applications. Students of human-computer interaction and software engineering will benefit from the practical guidelines it offers for effective interface design.