
The Essence of Software
Why Concepts Matter for Great Design
Daniel Jackson(Author)
Princeton University Press
Published on 16. November 2021
Book
Hardback
336 pages
978-0-691-22538-8 (ISBN)
Description
A revolutionary concept-based approach to thinking about, designing, and interacting with software
As our dependence on technology increases, the design of software matters more than ever before. Why then is so much software flawed? Why hasn't there been a systematic and scalable way to create software that is easy to use, robust, and secure?
Examining these issues in depth, The Essence of Software introduces a theory of software design that gives new answers to old questions. Daniel Jackson explains that a software system should be viewed as a collection of interacting concepts, breaking the functionality into manageable parts and providing a new framework for thinking about design. Through this radical and original perspective, Jackson lays out a practical and coherent path, accessible to anyone-from strategist and marketer to UX designer, architect, or programmer-for making software that is empowering, dependable, and a delight to use.
Jackson explores every aspect of concepts-what they are and aren't, how to identify them, how to define them, and more-and offers prescriptive principles and practical tips that can be applied cost-effectively in a wide range of domains. He applies these ideas to contemporary software designs, drawing examples from leading software manufacturers such as Adobe, Apple, Dropbox, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, and others. Jackson shows how concepts let designers preserve and reuse design knowledge, rather than starting from scratch in every project.
An argument against the status quo and a guide to improvement for both working designers and novices to the field, The Essence of Software brings a fresh approach to software and its creation.
As our dependence on technology increases, the design of software matters more than ever before. Why then is so much software flawed? Why hasn't there been a systematic and scalable way to create software that is easy to use, robust, and secure?
Examining these issues in depth, The Essence of Software introduces a theory of software design that gives new answers to old questions. Daniel Jackson explains that a software system should be viewed as a collection of interacting concepts, breaking the functionality into manageable parts and providing a new framework for thinking about design. Through this radical and original perspective, Jackson lays out a practical and coherent path, accessible to anyone-from strategist and marketer to UX designer, architect, or programmer-for making software that is empowering, dependable, and a delight to use.
Jackson explores every aspect of concepts-what they are and aren't, how to identify them, how to define them, and more-and offers prescriptive principles and practical tips that can be applied cost-effectively in a wide range of domains. He applies these ideas to contemporary software designs, drawing examples from leading software manufacturers such as Adobe, Apple, Dropbox, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, and others. Jackson shows how concepts let designers preserve and reuse design knowledge, rather than starting from scratch in every project.
An argument against the status quo and a guide to improvement for both working designers and novices to the field, The Essence of Software brings a fresh approach to software and its creation.
Reviews / Votes
"Finalist for the PROSE Award in Computing and Information Sciences, Association of American Publishers" "This book gives new answers to old questions, offering a fresh perspective on software design, with examples from over 100 familiar apps. It's accessible to anyone-strategist, marketer, manager, designer, or programmer-who wants software that is more empowering, dependable, and delightful to use." * MIT News *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Trade binding
Illustrations
84 b/w illus.
Dimensions
Height: 238 mm
Width: 158 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
716 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-22538-8 (9780691225388)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
11/2021
1st Edition
Princeton University Press
€23.49
Available for download
Person
Daniel Jackson is professor of computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an associate director of the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. He is the author of Software Abstractions and Portraits of Resilience.