My first reaction to this book was mixed. The positive part was that the book focuses on people problems and comes under the user interfaces category. The negative part was that the cover is amateurish, and the subtitle is not clear.

The book is divided into four parts. The first part discusses what software engineering has and has not achieved. The second part describes the state of the art in user interface design. The third part discusses the ten commandments, which are essentially the author’s mostly controversial principles for user interface design. The book ends with a discussion on the possibilities of human-oriented software engineering.

The basic purpose of the material is to focus on the need for further research in software engineering. The book fulfills its purpose by addressing the issues of software engineering for four main audiences: managers of user-interface programming projects, students of programming, software engineering researchers, and human-computer interaction researchers. Its interdisciplinary approach makes the book unusual.

The book’s length is adequate for the subject matter. It uses illustrations normally found in users’ manuals. The typography is good. The index is more than inadequate; it does not exist. The references are good.

The best feature of the book is that it focuses on the need for human-oriented software engineering that could be used to develop more effective user interfaces. The worst features are some commandment titles that could be toned down and better clarified. Overall, the book is a good stimulus for further discussions on research possibilities.