The author has been largely successful in her attempt to exhaustively treat the large and growing field of user interface design. Every kind of detail can be found, from general principles of interface design to extremely detailed recommendations about the design of individual elements of an interface.

The book begins with high-level information on profiling users and the importance of conceptual and mental models in interface design. The next eight chapters discuss various aspects of dialogue styles, including menus, forms, question and answer, command languages, function keys, direct manipulation, and natural language. A summary chapter on dialogue styles helps interface designers identify the appropriate dialogue to use for various types of information.

The next six chapters return to more general topics, including a discussion of input and output devices; this chapter provides information on the pros and cons of using different devices. Successive chapters cover the organization of functionality in a system, screen layout and design, response time, error handling, and user documentation.

The last chapter talks about various design methods that can be applied to the development of interfaces and when and where to use them in the software development life cycle.

Unlike many shorter books that purport to teach the design of interfaces but tend to be written with a broad approach to topics and little depth, Mayhew’s book provides both breadth and depth. She has relied heavily on published research to support her recommendations, adopting the same approach that the HFS/ANSI Committee on HCI Standards has taken.

The information is well organized, and where several variables are involved in making a decision about using a particular method or device, the author often provides a summary table or decision matrix to assist designers in determining the tradeoffs involved. Guidelines are indented and printed in bold text, which makes them easy to identify and greatly simplifies browsing for information, which is the way the book is most likely to be used.

It is difficult to criticize this book because it is so carefully written and contains so much useful information. I must state one caveat: because Mayhew has chosen to base many of her recommendations on published research, some areas where designers want and need guidance seem a bit skimpy. Someone trying to design a graphically based system with windows, icons, and lots of innovative features may be disappointed by the small amount of material. The reality is, however, that little empirical data exists on the cumulative effects of what we consider a “modern” interface. Mayhew’s book merely reflects that the human factors research community has not kept up with the technology.

Despite this shortcoming, this excellent book ought to be on the bookshelf of every programmer with responsibility for interface design. Human factors engineers will appreciate the copious citations and the well-organized reference material.