A Small Matter of Programming: Perspectives on End User Computing

Rating:
Summary: A taste of an important topic
Review: Computer makers continue to bring faster machines to market and end user software has become more feature-rich, but facilities for user customization are still primitive. Must end users be programmers to get the most of their software and their machines?

"This book asks why it has been so difficult for end users to command programming power and explores the critical problems of end user application development that must be solved to afford end users greater computational power." This is an ambitious goal. Except for the notable success of the spreadsheet, few applications provide a programming model acceptable to end users. The basic problem is that most extensions to applications are implemented with a broad, general purpose facility instead of an approach that appears to be focused on the particular problem domain. The successful end user programming models typically leverage and build upon the end user's domain experience and intuition.

As Nardi points out, "A mathematician, in a broad sense, already knows Mathematica, an accountant already knows Lotus 1-2-3, a statistician already knows SPSS." Still, except for these examples, and extensions to AutoCAD, Nardi is hard pressed to show positive examples of end user empowerment. Is it because most end users are not smart enough or willing to work hard enough? No, argues Nardi, and quite convincingly.

End users learn arcane and tedious formal systems all the time. She points out baseball fans can capture every pitch, and every play on a single score sheet and knitting fans, who themselves would probably not say they often learn and utilize formal systems, can read and use intricate patterns to make afghans. People are clever and persistent when it is interesting to them. That is the key.

Nardi cites another example from the AutoCAD world. "This book assumes you are a drawing professional, more interested in maximizing your use of AutoCAD than becoming a professional programmer." This is exactly the point.

The book is brief (143 pages plus references and so on), and left me wanting for more. It seemed more like an appetizer instead of a main course. For this reason, I thought I could only give it 3 stars. Still, there is precious little written on this subject so any contribution is welcome.

Eventually, end users will realize that all this computing power available today is largely wasted because there exists no easy mechanism for them to customize and extend their applications. When this happens, end user computing problems will be shoved to the forefront instead of idling in the background as it is today. Nardi's discussions are a great starting point. With luck, she, and others, will follow with solid advice for how to proceed.

Rating:
Summary: I love this book
Review: I am now reading this book for about the 7th time and still find its insights amazing. People looking to make a difference in the world should look at the discussion about why spreadsheets are easy to use.