I read Joel Spolske's User Interface Design for Programmers book in 2001. Rewired me forever: When the program model deviates from the user model (me), I am SHOCKED AND HORRIFIED. Been designing to break the law... er, align with the user model ever since. joelonsoftware.com/2001/10/24/user-interface-des…
Mar 20, 2025 at 5:31 AM
Mental Models and User Experience Design
What users believe they know about a user interface impacts how they use it. Mismatched mental models are common, especially with designs that try something new.
Ted Nelson on Pernicious Computer Traditions
Hello Systems by Loris Cro
The Tyranny of the Marginal User
why consumer software gets worse, not better, over time
Our interfaces have lost their senses
We programmed them by punching cards, plugging in wires, and flipping switches. Programmers walked among banks of switches and cables, physically choreographing their logic. Being on a computer used to be a full-body experience.
“Computers enable fantasies” – On the continued relevance of Weizenbaum’s warnings
“The computer has long been a solution looking for problems—the ultimate technological fix which insulates us from having to look at problems.” – Joseph Weizenbaum (1983) Trying to kee…
Conway's Law | Laws of Software Engineering
Organizations design systems that mirror their own communication structure.
Nobody Cracks Open a Programming Book Anymore · unix.foo
A sad look at the state of modern programming books.
What are Mental Models? — updated 2026
Harness the power of understanding and predicting user behavior with mental models. Simplify systems and enhance decision-making in your designs.
Apps and programming: two accidental tyrannies
On coding agents, malleable software, and the future of interface invention
Apps and programming: two accidental tyrannies
On coding agents, malleable software, and the future of interface invention
User & Agents
@userandagents.org
We are a community focused on shaping the future of user-agent systems. Our goal is to empower people by designing and building software that provides agency, control, and choice in our digital lives. userandagents.org
The "user" is dead. Long live the interactor!
𝕮
"Computers as Theatre" by Brenda Laurel (1991) cs.cmu.edu/~social/reading/Laurel-Comput…
Long-tail of user needs
An analogy to understand how the rigidity of software interfaces fails to meet what we need from it.
User Agency in Other People's Websites - Orion Reed at JOTB25
When to Design for Emergence
