本书对设计过程进行深入分析，揭示进行有效和优雅设计的方法。作者追踪了设计过程的演进，探讨了协作和分布式设计，阐明了哪些条件造就了真正卓越的设计者。他探讨了设计过程的具体细节，包括多种预算约束条件、美学考虑、设计经验主义及工具。同时，他将这些讨论与现实中的案例结合起来。

无论是软件开发、工程还是建筑，有效的设计都是工作的核心。本书将对设计过程进行深入分析，揭示进行有效和优雅设计的方法。

本书包含了多个行业设计者的特别领悟。作者精确发现了所有设计项目中内在的不变因素，揭示了进行优秀设计的过程和模式。通过与几十位优秀设计者的对话，以及他自己在几个设计领域的经验，作者指出，大胆的设计决定会产生更好的结果。

作者追踪了设计过程的演进，探讨了协作和分布式设计，阐明了哪些条件造就了真正卓越的设计者。他探讨了设计过程的具体细节，包括多种预算约束条件、美学考虑、设计经验主义及工具。同时，他将这些讨论与现实中的案例结合起来，这些案例从房屋建造到ibm的operating system/360。成功的关键因素贯穿全书，每个设计者、设计项目经理和设计研究者都应该知道。

Ⅰ models of designing

　chapter 1 the design question

　chapter 2 how engineers think of design-the rational model

　chapter 3 what's wrong with this model

　chapter 4 requirements, sin, and contracts

　chapter 5 what are better design process models

Ⅱ collaboration and telecollaboration

　chapter 6 collaboration in design

　chapter 7 telecollaboration

Ⅲ design Perspectives

　chapter 8 rationalism versus Empiricism in design

　chapter 9 user models-better wrong than vague

　chapter 10 inches, ounces, bits, dollars-the Budgeted resource

　chapter 11 constraints are friends

　chapter 12 esthetics and style in technical design

　chapter 13 exemplars in design

　chapter 14 how expert designers go wrong

　chapter 15 the divorce of design

　chapter 16 representing designs' trajectories and rationales

Ⅳ a computer scientist's dream system for designing houses

　chapter 17 a computer scientist's dream system for designing houses——mind to machine

　chapter 18 a computer scientist's dream system for designing houses——machine to mind

Ⅴ great designers

　chapter 19 great designs come from great designers

　chapter 20 where do great designers come from

ＶＩ trips through design spaces: case studies

　chapter 21 case study: beach house "view/360"

　chapter 22 case study: house wing addition

　chapter 23 case study: kitchen remodeling

　chapter 24 case study: system/360 architecture

　chapter 25 case study: IBM Operating system/360

　chapter 26 case study: book design of computer computer

　chapter 27 case study: a joint computer center organization: triangle universities computation center

　chapter 28 recommended reading

　acknowledgments

　bibliography

　people index

　subject index