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Summary: The Myriad Dimensions of "Usability"
Review: An abundance of market research data indicates that convenience (or ease of doing business) is ranked either first or second among attributes by which customers measure their satisfaction with a seller of goods and/or services. This is especially true of visitors to Web sites. As Nielsen brilliant explains and then convincingly demonstrates, "web usability" is another application of the KISS Principle. He has written two books which "attack the problem of usable web design from two angles. This first one is about the 'what' of good websites, and the second is about the 'how.'...This book explains what is known about the properties of easy-to-use websites. Short preview: Relish simplicity, and focus on the users' goals rather than glitzy design." He guides his reader through various phase of web design (page design, content design, and the design of the overall architecture) and then shifts the reader's attention to "special issues" such as intranets, users with disabilities, and international users. Nielsen concludes his book with a "view toward the future of the Internet and new developments on the Web."Who will derive the greatest value from reading this book? My hunch (only a hunch) is the owner/CEO of a small-to-midsize company which has not as yet launched a Web site, or, which has done so and the Web site has not achieved its objectives thus far. Whether designing a Web site or a residence, the same basic question must first be answered: Why? More specifically, how will it be used? By whom? To serve which specific purposes? To accomplish what? And at what cost? Nielsen observes, "usability rules the Web. Simply stated, if the customer can't find a product, then he or she will not buy it. The Web is the ultimate customer-empowered environment. He or she who clicks the mouse gets to decide [italics] everything. it is so easy to go elsewhere; all the competitors in the world are but a mouseclick away." The challenge, then, to maximize the "usability" of a Web site for those who are attracted to it. Research data reveal that a substantial majority of those who go on-line visit only ten Web sites 90% of the time. Presumably those who are only one-time visitors had an unsatisfactory experience. Getting them to return may not be impossible but is certainly very, very difficult. Nielsen explains that "There are essentially two basic approaches to design: the artistic ideal of expressing yourself and the engineering ideal of solving a problem for a customer. This book is firmly on the side of engineering." He correctly realizes that today, this moment, the patience of a Web site visitor is measured in seconds. "This book is full of specific methods that can be used at almost every stage of a web project to dramatically enhance the the user experience." That's true. Nielsen does indeed provide an abundance of information, observations, caveats, and suggestions but all of them presuppose the constant practice of simplicity in both planning and execution of strategies and tactics. Who else will derive substantial value from this book? Decision-makers in much larger organizations (especially those involved on a global basis) who are hard at work on projects whose success depends directly or indirectly, on the usability of their organization's Web site. Specifically, those who are formulating or revising initiatives to improve CRM, employee recruitment and retention, allocation of resources, logistics, internal and external communications, contingency planning and crisis management, and cycle time reduction. In other words, decision-makers who are determined to maximize usability in literally every area of operations. Yes, this is a book about the Web but the Web, ultimately, is about everything and everyone involved in every organization, regardless of its size and nature.
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Summary: This book is the very best in it's class.
Review: Nielson explains all with simplicity. It's really amazing how easy he makes 'designing usability' seem. Simple concepts and a good understanding of what the public are looking for are laid out in plain fashion. He adds statistics that may be useful for designers and hopefully improves their understanding that the web is not a paint canvas but rather an information superhighway where people are looking for answers not pictures.
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Summary: This was valid stuff.. 3 or 4 years ago...
Review: "renowned Web usability guru".. that's almost funny... from circa.. 1994? I often wonder how people like this exist. Someone, somewhere, at some time.. validated this guy's archaic ways of thought and now we've got a book of outdated, narrow minded, limited use information. It almost angers me that this hogwash is treated as factual information, when in actuality, it is nothing more than the opinion of an outdated person with no creative talent and limited understanding of our technology and how it has progressed. If we were to all subscribe to this belief, we'd still be listening to the weekly radio show and placing phone calls through "Elma" at the local switchboard. The Internet is changing. Lead, follow, or get the heck out of the way.. we're tired of the mindless babble.
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Summary: Clarifies your thinking
Review: His thought processes and his statistics are very enlightening. I use this book constantly. It keeps me on track.
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Summary: A must-read for anyone involved with site design!
Review: Creating Web sites that truly meet the needs and expectations of a wide range of online users is the core question and main topic of the book. It is not a book on how to program in HTML. The book is packed with annotated examples of actual Web sites, and discussions of Web usability regarding page, content, site, and intranet design. The book skillfully clarifies for the reader the many subtle challenges that are often mixed together in other discussions. For example, the requirements of viewing pages on varying monitor sizes separately from writing concise text for scanability. The book includes survey results on sizes of screens, types of queries submitted to search portals, response times by connection type. It goes into detail of cross-platform design, response time considerations, and writing for the Web, multimedia implementation, navigation strategies, search boxes, corporate intranet design, and accessibility for disabled users, international considerations, and future predictions. If you follow the books instructions carefully you will be rewarded with faster Web projects and satisfied Web customers. A must-read for anyone involved with site design! FinancialNeeds.com
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Summary: Well, It is Good Guildeline but a bit out of date
Review: I admire that Jakob Nielsen point out that a lot of graphic take longer time to download. It did help us as a webmaster to try to reduce / optimize the graphic size. However, the recent website trend is always moving toward nice-looking design. We must balance the use of graphic and text and not only try to reduce the graphic element. Last point, I still seriously think that a clear website architecture and easy navigation is the main ingredient of a good website. That is why I give this book 4 star
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Summary: Excellent handbook for those without common sense...
Review: I found this book to be very enlightening due to the fact that Nielsen has been around for quite some time. I did agree with some of his remarks, since most of what he said was common sense, but some I disagreed with. One of the things I disagree with is the fact that people dislike scrolling. I think he developed this mentality prior to the release of the mouse "wheel". I think that most people these days don't really mind scrolling if they have a wheel on their mouse. However, I must agree that it is quite a pain to be without one. Overall, I feel that this book is meant for those people going into Web "Site" Design, and not Web "Page" Design. It is also meant for those who are designing a website with a target audience of 100+ people. If you're making a general information web page, this isn't meant for you. If you are putting together an "information intensive" website, then you should read this book. It addresses many issues dealing with layout (Don't and Do's) and a lot of other things that people tend to overlook.
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Summary: The web is not just science...
Review: I am astounded by the absolute arrogance that Mr. Nielsen displays throughout his book. He is approaching web design not only from a purely scientific point of view, but a science that he seems to determined to bend to suit his purposes; that is not science. He offers many good points that are, however, common sense to a skilled designer working in this field that do not require you to read this book. In the bibliography section he lists more of his own work as if he is the only person worth his salt, when in fact there are many good reference pieces to read. The fact of the matter is everyone uses the web in a different way; whether you are hosting a site or surfing through one. The broad gereralizations that Mr. Nielsen makes are at best inaccurate and at worst misleading. The examples of the work he has done, within the book, contradict his own thesis and I would not recommend this book as a serious reference that you will refer to time and again.
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Summary: Highly influential
Review: Love him or loath him, ol' Jokob is the man. I happen to love it (but then I give my love all too easily).
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Summary: Practical and Easy to Follow
Review: If you are reading this review, probably you already know the importance of usability for Web sites (or at least notice the usability issues). For learning Web usability, the Web usability guru, Jakob Nielsen, is no doubt the most suitable person to be your teacher. This book will not teach you how to do user testing, but will only show you "WHAT" good Web usability is. It is actually a review of the concepts Jakob brings us in his Web site useit.com, but it is more structural and with more examples. This book is not difficult to read, people with any background can get the book's idea easily. If you are thinking buy this book or not, try to visit his Web site - useit.com first, as you can get some of Jakob's ideas there. Another famous Web usability book is Steve Krug's "Don't Make Me Think - A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability". That is a thin book (Jakob's book: over 400 pages Vs Steve's book: about 200 pages). Therefore, if you don't need to know everything, Steve's book is better. Otherwise, I suggest Jakob's book.
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