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Summary: A must-have for every web design professional
Review: Extremely Useful and Usable • Top-notch! I've read most of the current books out on web usability and user-centered design and must say this book was better than I expected. Full of down-to-earth practical techniques, design tips, usability testing recommendations, and very clear advice. I have read it twice, and refer to it frequently. Krug does a great job of giving you just what you need, and in a logical, concise manner.
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Summary: This is how it should be done
Review: The "show me" what you mean book of web usability review. I particularly like the common sense handling of the main web problems.Some of the key things that are pointed out in this book are: 1. Don't make me think: Basically the web user does not want to venture into a site that requires them to figure it out. It should be self-evident. How do we use web pages: a. We don't read pages, we scan them b. We don't make optimal choices, we satisfice c. We don't figure out, how things work, we muddle through 2. It doesn't matter how many times I click as long as each click is a mindless unambiguous choice 3. Get rid of half the words on each page, then get rid of half of what's left. The first 5 chapters clearly illustrate the three "Krug's Laws of Usability" listed above with lots of pictures and examples. Well done. His chapters on navigation and finding your way around are a cookbook on how to do it right. He finishes the chapters with several examples, first asking the reader to look at the examples and then discusses how he feels it should be redone. Excellent teaching tool. Similarly, he broaches the topic of the Home page and how it should be structured and the various forces pulling in different directions. The examples he gives at the end here too are a good teaching tool. The remainder of the book discusses the design processes and the usability tests. These are excellent chapters in the forces at work and it is evident, he has done this many times from the information he has gathered. He provides specific suggestions for web usability testing for various stages of sites as well as for various problems. This is wonderful guidance if you are new at this. He also provides a guideline on scripting and report writing. Nice job. He winds up the book with recommended reading and also providing a website for readers of this book: http://www.circle.com/krugbook/
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Summary: A Great Book
Review: This is a great book for web usability. It is not an academic analysis of usability, it is just what it says it is: "A common sense approach to Web Usability" It reads quickly and easily, and helps double check your project. I recommend it for anyone developing a web application. We already had Designing Web Usability by Jakob Nielsen, and it was great, but this book was perfect to brush through as we develop the product. It has made our work much better.
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Summary: A must have for a designers and developers
Review: I can only agree to many happy positive reviews: This book is a must have for everybody who is working on the Internet. Finally an answer to all my questions about navigation, layout and even how people don't think when they surf the Net.
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Summary: An author who follows his own advice!
Review: If I were as articulate as Steve Krug, this review would require very little thought on your part, but would still deliver a thought-provoking message. I just finished reading this book and found it very informative, thought-provoking, and enjoyable. My head is full, but I don't feel the least worn out. I'm fired up and ready to go back and re-design the few websites I'm responsible for the right way. Thanks, Steve!
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Summary: Only for Beginners - Light on Substance
Review: I've been a usability engineer/information architect for 8 years and have read many books on both GUI and web design. I'm sorry to report that this book was disappointing. It took me only a few hours to breeze through and I came away with very little that was new to me and with the perception that this book was light on substance. Perhaps this is because I have been in this field for so long. However, I just finished reading Jeff Johnson's "GUI Bloopers" and, even after designing GUIs for so many years, I learned so much from Jeff's book. If you are new to this field, Krug's book will help but make sure to read "Designing Web Usability" by Nielsen, "Information Architecture for the World Wide Web" by Rosenfeld and Morville, "Designing Large Scale Web Sites" by Sano, and "Web Navigation" by Jennifer Fleming. I also recommend Johnson's book on GUI design. So many GUI Design Principles are directly applicable to good web site design.
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Summary: USABLE COMMON SENSE
Review: Buy the book and read it from cover to cover. THEN: Use it. WHY? "Don't Make Me Think" is loaded with clear, practical and USABLE advice. Although based upon sturdy theory, the book is not "theoretical" or "academic." The value is in Krugs' wealth of experience and real world examples. He expertly includes an annotated script of a "typical" user testing session. If you have never had the opportunity to view or conduct a testing session, this will certainly encourage you to relax and give it a go. Be certain as well to check out the "Trunk Test" on page 87. WHAT I LEARNED: Of course, the big thing is the difference between THINKING a web page and SEEING a web page. This can be a difficult concept to get across. Not so for Steve Krug. Secondly, "conventions are your friends." The bottom line: "They are very useful. As a rule, conventions only become conventions if they work." FINALLY: If you are a designer, give copies to your clients. This will help them understand why usability is so important. If you are a webmaster, get copies for your team and the CEO. This will insure that all the effort that goes into development stays focused and that the web site will WORK.
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Summary: Excellent approach to this tough topic
Review: Krug has done what so many others have tried: written a short, concise book with examples that actually offers both food for thought and answers to practical questions. If you're looking to revamp an existing site and you are wondering if this or that idea will work, Krug will most likely be able to offer a hint or two. The exquisite design of the book itself and Krug's style of writing makes it a pleasure to sit down and read, and since he does not get bogged down with long-winded discussions about browser-compatibility and other tech details, he can focus on the topic at hand: usability. For anyone who enjoys Jacob Nielsen's alert newsletters, this is the perfect bookshelf companion.
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Summary: A Must Have in any Web Professional's Library!
Review: This book has the right balance of tips, prose, pictures and examples that get across very powerful, and sometimes very simple (common sense) principles. Definitely a must have. And definitely written and put together in a way that you can scan sections at a time, without having to read sequentially, much like the web is put together! He practices what he preaches, which is very refreshing for a User Expert!
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Summary: Outstanding
Review: Another design book in the same light as Jakob Nielsen's, but this one is different!! Outstanding. Thanks for making me think differently! :). I really enjoyed this book and found the prose very engaging and thought provoking (even though the title is "Don't make me think." Good job.
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