Rating: 
Summary: Pompous, Hollow, Useless and NOT FOR CLASSROOMS
Review: I am writing this review in the context of using this book as
a text for a web-development course. A superior book is
McCracken and Wolfe's _User-Centered Website Development: A
Human Computer Interaction Approach_, which is incredibly good.Baxley's _Making the Web Work_ is based on a single premise.
That premise is a "Unified Model" of interface design, presented
as a diagram that is constantly shown throughout the book. For
Baxley, the bottom of the diagram contains base-level concerns
like concepts, structures, and so on; the top contains things
like layout and color. This diagram, the foundation of the book,
is itself unappealing, cumbersome, and hard to use. Baxley occasionally misuses terms. He constantly refers to
the "imagery" of a site...which means the symbolism. That's
not what he's trying to get at. He meant to use "images". But
"imagery" is a parallel term to "typography", so it probably
sounded okay. I think I know what he meant by "There is no
zero in design", (p. 366)...but my students don't. Througout, the book manages to evade facts and details. The
most imporant points (like font size as a determinant of web
usability) are given scant attention. Mostly, the book presents
lists of terms and attributes that students cannot seem to
differentiate between. (As another reviewer mentions, Baxley
does not use the standard terms for "Exact" and "Ambiguous"
Schemes.) The writing style is vaguely pompous. The book
feels hollow and useless, as there are not enough clear examples
of general principles. It is true that the book presents two cases studies at the
end, but by the time you get there, you are exhausted,
disinterested, and utterly convinced that there may be no
Unified Theory of Interface Design. Or perhaps there may be
one, but this certainly isn't it.
Rating: 
Summary: good resource for web application designers
Review: I want to thank Bob for writing this book.
Although there are tons books written about "web site" design,
there are virtually no books written specifically for designing
user interface for web applications. As a practicing UI engineer/designer for over 5 years, focusing on web applications,
I still learned lot of useful approaches to dealing with common "road blocks" from this book. But, what I liked best about this book was the fact that
Bob validated lot of web application UI best practices that
some of us knew for some time. But due to various reasons,
it wasn't widely publicized for the masses. For those new to desiging UI for softwares or web applications,
read this book to get familiar with recommended approaches.
Then talk with your stake holders and clients to decide
best approaches for your own project.
Rating: 
Summary: Another book on the concepts of putting together a web site
Review: MAKING THE WEB WORK
Designing Effective Web Applications
AUTHOR: Bob Baxley
PUBLISHER: New Riders
REVIEWED BY: Barbara Rhoades BOOK REVIEW: How many times have we been told HOW to build a web site such as defining the goals of what you want a web site to do? How many books have been written to go through all the steps of putting together a web site? Making the Web Work, Designing Effective Web Applications is another one of those books that describe the steps to building a web site. If you are a beginner in web design, this book will take you through those steps such as: Describing target Users and Product Goals, Prioritizing and Categorizing different aspects of an Interface, Selecting a Motif, and Understanding the Building Blocks of a Web Interface. All in all, there are 14 Chapters to putting together an effective web site with 441 pages of reading. There is no CD included with this book. If you have never had a plan on how to think through putting a site together or are a new designer, this would be a good book to add to your library
Rating:
Summary: An excellent resource for user researchers!
Review: The back cover of the book states: "Most people involved in the design and specifications of Web applications, whether they're visual designers, engineers, or product marketers do not have a method for understanding or prioritizing design issues." I agree - however, I would add that those of us who are involved in usability testing / user research should also be added to the list. As a consultant working in the field of user research, I give my clients this book - the main reason being that it gives us a common vocabulary and way to think about how to conduct usability testing or user research at any stage of the Web development process. While not written to do so, the book actually provides a "template" for what needs to be tested / researched at each stage. This type of organized thinking can only help those of us in the trenches provide meaningful feedback. One request of the author - a sequel entitled "Applying the Principals of Making the Web Work to User Research" - (while not necessarily the best title - you get the idea!)
Rating:
Summary: Shows you the differences that make a difference
Review: There are many rules to follow as you start the construction of a web page. However, they are still only a starting point, as much of what makes a web page work is in the realm of art appreciation. Both areas are covered in this book, as Baxley deconstructs the organization of web sites. He splits them into three main components: structure, behavior and presentation.
The structure section is split into three subsections: * The conceptual model.
* The structural model.
* The organizational model. The behavior section is split into three subsections: * Viewing and navigation.
* Editing and manipulation.
* User assistance. The presentation section is split into three subsections: * Layout.
* Style.
* Text. The explanations of these principles are illustrated with examples of both the good and bad, which is necessary to get the point across. Each of the actions that you must allow the user to perform are covered, with solid pointers as to how to present them in a manner where all possible courses are clear to the user. Viewers of web sites show very little patience as they browse, and in this environment, subtle differences become magnified. Those differences that make a difference are described, as well as how they all relate to each other to make up the total experience delivered by a site.
The design of web sites is still as much an art as an area of engineering, so while there are rules, they are only starting points rather than end points. Baxley shows you where to start and some of the main ideas of the possible branches to follow as you build a site. Web design is an area of art, where nontraditional approaches can generate new paradigms, and Baxley treats it like that.
Rating:
Summary: A great resource!
Review: This is an excellent survey of the considerations involved in designing interactive Web applications. "Making the Web Work" outlines a sound methodology and process for designing great interactive Web sites, as well as offering specific practical design suggestions and guidelines. Baxley draws upon proven user interface practices and principles, real-world examples, and case studies to present elegant solutions to common Web application issues. In particular, the chapters on conceptual, structural, and organizational models will benefit anyone who is embarking on designing a Web application. If you're new to Web application design, "Making the Web Work" is a great introduction to the field; if you're already an experienced designer, you'll find yourself referring to this book again and again for practical suggestions and reminders of what it takes to provide your users with a satisfying and effective Web experience.
Rating:
Summary: A great resource!
Review: This is an excellent survey of the considerations involved in designing interactive Web applications. "Making the Web Work" outlines a sound methodology and process for designing great interactive Web sites, as well as offering specific practical design suggestions and guidelines. Baxley draws upon proven user interface practices and principles, real-world examples, and case studies to present elegant solutions to common Web application issues. In particular, the chapters on conceptual, structural, and organizational models will benefit anyone who is embarking on designing a Web application. If you're new to Web application design, "Making the Web Work" is a great introduction to the field; if you're already an experienced designer, you'll find yourself referring to this book again and again for practical suggestions and reminders of what it takes to provide your users with a satisfying and effective Web experience.
Rating:
Summary: A great book about an important field
Review: Web applications are getting more and more sophisticated--and important and Bob's book is a great start toward understanding how to build Web apps well. Pay special attention to his process as this will work long after the technology itself evolves past it's current state.
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