Rob's review of Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability
Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug
Rob's review
rating:
bookshelves:
2008,
usability
recommended for:
young web professionals and UI developers
status:
Read in February, 2008
Overall, Don't Make Me Think is a solid, layman's terms examination of UI design and usability issues, particularly as those issues apply to web sites. Steve Krug presents us with a plain-English approach that just about any web professional can quickly and easily digest and then rapidly apply to his work for maximum effectiveness. That said...:
(1) The book had relatively strong start but the "lessons" start to seem a bit "commonsensical" before you get very far. As they say in Freakonomics, there is certainly a great deal of value in questioning the conventional wisdom out there but at the same time, a little experience in the field seems to reveal these lessons well enough. Thinking about yourself as a user instead of a designer or developer.
(2) The book (sadly) feels a bit dated. Granted, there is a revised/updated version but the copy that I read was published in 2000. Again, the lessons translate well and most have not diminished o...more
(1) The book had relatively strong start but the "lessons" start to seem a bit "commonsensical" before you get very far. As they say in Freakonomics, there is certainly a great deal of value in questioning the conventional wisdom out there but at the same time, a little experience in the field seems to reveal these lessons well enough. Thinking about yourself as a user instead of a designer or developer.
(2) The book (sadly) feels a bit dated. Granted, there is a revised/updated version but the copy that I read was published in 2000. Again, the lessons translate well and most have not diminished o...more
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The common-sense approach to the book actually gave me some moments of absolute clarity. The 2005 edition doesn't really add too much more from the 2000 edition as far as I can gather, but the basic rules are there. As someone who has been working in the field several years as a .NET developer, it's increadibly hard to think about usability when you're so wrapped up in data layers, controllers and ASP.NET's own markup. Actually having things such as the golden rules burned into your mind means you can launch a page you've been working on for the past three days and run a quick mental checklist to ask "does this work to a user?"There are other volumes that deal with adding complexity to the subject of usability. This is not one of them, and nor do I think it should be. Have you explored some of the recommended reading in the back of the book?
