This book does an excellent job of making simple concepts seem complex—exactly the opposite of what I look for in a technical book. I appreciate that the graphics are excellent and clear, but since the concepts behind them are also simple, I’d prefer to devote my energy to more challenging subjects.
That said, it’s good, I suppose, for beginners and students. But for professionals who already know basic concepts of programming and space planning, a quick summary from Ballast, or the first chapter of this book, is all you need for the ARE.
I read it for preparing my ARE exams. It is my second time to read it. I love those diagrams illustrating the strategics used for the programming process in this book.
Secondly, it is useful to understand what is programming, how we do during programming process, and most importantly, what is the difference between programming and design.
This is a great book to help guide an architect through the programming process. It's easy to follow and provides a great template and is universal to project type and client base.