Praise for Essence of Software

“Hard to contain my excitement about this book… Its ideas are fresh yet familiar, radical yet obvious, deep yet simple. I will be reading it repeatedly for years to come. A profound landmark in our discipline.”—Bashar Nuseibeh, University of Limerick, and Chief Scientist, LERO

“Daniel Jackson’s concepts are a breakthrough in computer system design, integrating software engineering with human computer interaction. This is a framework we should all be using that will be immediately valuable at all levels, from students to the most experienced.”—Hal Abelson, coauthor of Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs

“Daniel Jackson’s The Essence of Software is a monumental work. It provides a new structure for thinking about software in terms of concepts. Wide-ranging, it uses modern examples the reader will know. And because the book (and its copious endnotes) is designed to be read along different paths, every software engineer will find something valuable in it.”—Frederick P. Brooks, Jr., author of The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering

“I cannot say enough good things about this book. The Essence of Software is essential reading for anyone concerned with making software that is responsive to human needs and purposes. Its profound, practical framework offers a broadly useful, enormously empowering way to think about and do software design.”—Mitchell Kapor, founder, Lotus Development Corporation

“A provocative rethinking of software development as a design discipline. Too often software embodies confusing and inconsistent mental models. Taking a truly human-centered approach, with many rich examples, Jackson offers us the tools to rethink how we design software to be more usable and useful.”—Elizabeth Churchill, Director of User Experience, Google

“Daniel Jackson’s The Essence of Software will join Fred Brooks’s The Mythical Man-Month as an influential guide to making great software products and tools. Designers will come to their work with more open minds, clearer thoughts, and the capacity to build excellent software.”—Ben Shneiderman, University of Maryland

“The Essence of Software won’t just give you new ideas: Daniel Jackson’s novel and thoroughly worked-out software concepts will transform how you think about design, software, and programming—whatever systems or languages you use, whether you are a new programmer, professional programmer, or researcher. This is a landmark book that will make the digital world a better place.”—Harold Thimbleby, author of Fix IT: See and Solve the Problems of Digital Healthcare