I’ve been rereading the Alan Cooper book, “The Inmates Are Running the Asylum”. It’s about how high-tech product and software designers drive people crazy with the way they go about trying to satisfy their users.

Do you ever wonder if a software developer is just built differently than most people? Well, according to the book, the answer is a resounding “definitely”!

In the chapter on the Homo Logicus, that special breed of human (well, maybe) that is so often found in the role of application developer, we are told that the key to a successful user experience is not only to understand the psychology of the user, but also to include the understanding of the psychology of the software engineer.

Tidbits from the book:

Nothing will change unless we can influence the software developers. Even when the programmers agree that the user should be better treated (and they usually do), that doesn’t necessarily mean that they will do what is necessary to actually accomplish that goal.

Programmers are somehow different from ordinary people.