Just a few reminiscences:
- TGTO is still my most widely cited publication. But when it first came out, I noticed that most of the cites came from the first chapter. MIT Press had put that chapter online for free to publicize the book. Coincidence?
- I didn't expect TGTO to be accepted by MIT Press. My original plan was to approach the most prestigious press first. Then, along with the rejection letter, I would get some solid reviews that would help me revise it for the next press. To my complete surprise, MIT Press accepted the book and sent me a contract.
- I signed the contract on September 10, 2001. Needless to say, I didn't get to celebrate much the next day.
- TGTO was my tenure book. During the tenure process, I sometimes referred to it as Trudging Grimly through Obligations. But despite that, I really enjoyed writing it.
- TGTO was based on my dissertation. But it represents a complete rethinking. That's because, days after my defense, I read Beyer and Holtzblatt's Contextual Design and realized that I had to step up my game. The next 18 months were spent researching interaction design methodologies, a period that resulted in several side publications in methodology and especially participatory design. In the end, I replaced three chapters entirely and reworked the cases in the remaining chapters.
- I told someone the other day that I study how people use sticky notes. That's not the whole truth, but it's close enough.
(2003).
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2 comments:
And I'm grateful I came across your book!
While I too had read Beyer & Holtzblatt's Contextual Design in school, TGTO introduced me to genres and refreshed my interest in Activity Theory.
More importantly, perhaps, TGTO the book that helped me connect the usability problems I worked on as an interaction designer to the larger issues my clients encountered.
We obviously need tools to mediate information/knowledge work, and there's almost always a desire to make systems better but there remains an inability – also on my part - to articulate how work actually takes place and how the tools and genres we use shape the outcomes and future options available to us. TGTO was a great start, I'm glad I came across it.
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