From the book lists at Adware Report:

 All information current as of 19:20:46 Pacific Time, Monday, 21 February 2005.

Usability for the Web: Designing Web Sites that Work

   by Tom Brinck / Darren Gergle / Scott D. Wood

  Paperback:
    Morgan Kaufmann
    15 October, 2001

   US$34.95 

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Editorial description(s):

From Book News, Inc.
Specialists in web design, human-computer interaction, and cognitive modeling team up to explain a systematic procedure for designing user-centered sites. Their basic principle is that the design should be rational, based on a careful allocation of development resources, thoughtful decisions when making tradeoffs, and decisions based on actual data about users whenever possible.Copyright © 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR


Review
"It's an incredibly good read. It rattles along at a good rate, is packed full of good advice and I had the distinct impression that here was real web usability."
Xristine Faulkner, CISE, SBU.


Review
"It's an incredibly good read. It rattles along at a good rate, is packed full of good advice and I had the distinct impression that here was real web usability."
Xristine Faulkner, CISE, SBU.


Book Info
Discusses how to design usable web sites in a systematic process applicable to almost any business need. Written for web designers and web project managers seeking a balance between usability goals and business concerns. Softcover.


From the Back Cover



Every stage in the design of a new web site is an opportunity to meet or miss deadlines and budgetary goals. Every stage is an opportunity to boost or undercut the site's usability.



This book tells you how to design usable web sites in a systematic process applicable to almost any business need. You get practical advice on managing the project and incorporating usability principles from the project's inception. This systematic usability process for web design has been developed by the authors and proven again and again in their own successful businesses.



A beacon in a sea of web design titles, this book treats web site usability as a preeminent, practical, and realizable business goal, not a buzzword or abstraction. The book is written for web designers and web project managers seeking a balance between usability goals and business concerns.



Features


About the Author
Tom Brinck is chief usability officer at Diamond Bullet Design, a firm specializing in web site design and usability consulting. Tom has M.S. degrees in computer science and cognitive psychology from Stanford University and the University of Michigan. He has done user interface research at Apple Computer, Toshiba, and Bellcore and is currently an adjunct faculty member at University of Michigan's School of Information.

Darren Gergle is a Ph.D. student in human-computer interaction at Carnegie Mellon University. Before beginning his graduate work, he was lead designer at Diamond Bullet Design.

Scott D. Wood is a senior scientist at Soar Technology, an R&D company focused on cognitive modeling, AI, and information visualization. He has more than ten years experience in software development, e-business consulting, cognitive modeling, and HCI. He holds a Ph.D. in computer science and engineering from the University of Michigan.


Book Description



Every stage in the design of a new web site is an opportunity to meet or miss deadlines and budgetary goals. Every stage is an opportunity to boost or undercut the site's usability.



This book tells you how to design usable web sites in a systematic process applicable to almost any business need. You get practical advice on managing the project and incorporating usability principles from the project's inception. This systematic usability process for web design has been developed by the authors and proven again and again in their own successful businesses.



A beacon in a sea of web design titles, this book treats web site usability as a preeminent, practical, and realizable business goal, not a buzzword or abstraction. The book is written for web designers and web project managers seeking a balance between usability goals and business concerns.

* Examines the entire spectrum of usability issues, including architecture, navigation, graphical presentation, and page structure.
* Explains clearly the steps relevant to incorporating usability into every stage of the web development process, from requirements to tasks analysis, prototyping and mockups, to user testing, revision, and even postlaunch evaluations.
* Includes forms, checklists, and practical techniques that you can easily incorporate into your own projects at http://www.mkp.com/uew/.




Reader review(s):

An excellent survey of Web usability, January 10, 2002
This is the book I wish I had when I started as an information architect.

That's not to say that Usability for the Web is a book about IA. Not at all. It is what it advertises--a book about making Web sites useful for its visitors.

But I've noticed something... In all of my engagements as an IA, my responsibilities routinely went beyond "just" information architecture into interface design and, yes, usability. I've not only been expected to organize and structure the information of a site, but to ensure that it is readily usable. My hunch is that this is true for most IAs. Most projects simply don't have the budget to support both an IA and a usability expert. Hence the IA is often expected to wear multiple fedoras. And that's why Usability for the Web would have been so helpful when I was a rookie.

I knew I would like the book almost from the outset. Under a large heading "Web Sites for People," the authors write

"Users need to be considered early and often. Usability needs to be a part of every step of the design process. Our approach is pervasive usability--integrating usability into everything we do. Our philosophy is that usability should not be an add-on, but that everyday processes should be modified to be user-centered."

Do I hear a hearty "Amen" from the congregation?

From there--in nearly 500 pages--the authors embark on a detailed exploration of the process of Web-design-cum-usability. Define the audience and platforms. Conduct user needs analysis. Complete task analyses. Create information architecture. All the way to post-launch usability evaluations. This is a complete survey and would make an ideal textbook.

While the authors' presentation is thorough and fairly comprehensive, it doesn't break new ground. You won't discover any gee-whiz methods or fascinating new insights here--although there is an excellent and long-needed chapter on how to write for the Web.

No, the value of Usability for the Web is how it puts all the pieces together in a very coherent whole. It even has its own little Web site where you can peruse the table of contents and download PDF copies of the various forms the authors recommend.

A couple quibbles... For such a well-organized book, it can be difficult to determine where to find specific topics. Information on navigation, for example, is scattered across two widely separated chapters (Information Architecture and Design Elements). Fortunately, this can be overcome by use of the excellent index.

And when I said Usability for the Web would make an ideal textbook, that was a mixed compliment. Unfortunately, the prose definitely has that, um, "textbook" flavor. I took it with me to jury duty and found that I would doze off after a couple of chapters. That's not to say it's poor reading--just that it's to the point, quite clear and lacking in zing. And that's OK.

Usability for the Web will have a prominent place on my bookshelf--ready for quick reference when I have a question or need an idea. I recommend it for your bookshelf too!

Pervasive Usability, October 29, 2001
This is a serious book about a serious subject: usability. The authors practice what they call pervasive usability, where usability is factored into every stage of the Web site design process. This integrated approach to usability saves money by catching problems early in the design life cycle at a point where changes are much cheaper. This results in highly usable sites that are simple, consistent, aesthetically pleasing, and profitable.

This book is more than a usability guide. It is more a handbook for design teams. It has both great breadth and great depth, covering the gamut of usability-related topics like task analysis, information architecture, page layout, and web writing and gives useful details not found in similar books. That knowledge stems from the authors' extensive real world and academic experience as part of both Ann Arbor-based Diamond Bullet Design, and disciples of the University of Michigan's school of human-computer interaction. Throw in some cognitive psychology for good measure, and you've got a rare combination of skills.

The authors have done us a great favor. They've distilled their design process into this book, complete with checklists, optimal processes, and techniques that design teams can use to improve or rework their existing design processes. The authors say that only through a logical, reasoned, and structured process can truly excellent and usable sites be created.

The design process acts as the outline for their book:

* Requirements Analysis
* Conceptual Design
* Mockups & Prototypes
* Production
* Launch

Each stage is iterative, where time and budget allows. The book expands on each stage of the design process. Actual production is only a small portion of the overall site design process.

The process of design is usually about choosing tradeoffs that yield the best solution. Since most site design projects have a limited budget it's better to leave off some nonessential features than omit usability from your projects. Sites with poor usability inevitably fare worse than sites with good usability. By following the authors' recommendations your site can be one of the few that is highly usable. From WebReference.com.

thorough and well-written, July 19, 2002
we all love (or love to hate) jakob nielsen and his views on design and usability. but a lot of what he teaches is very basic and, to those of us with experience, seems like common sense. "the search box should go in the upper right corner" - i can only read that so many times. he IS one of the foremost experts, no doubt. but i was ready for another source - one that's more detailed and a little less opinionated

'usability for the web' combines easy-to-understand methods, clear writing and more advanced issues for those of us who aren't beginners. and as many of us are taking on more roles, this book covers other vital topics we need to know when producing a site. before the .com bust, we had entire teams with people in specialized roles. now, project managers and designers are having to learn about info architecture, budgeting, usability and a number of other topics to secure their jobs (IF they have one). this book speaks to that person, no matter what position they're in

highly recommended

Seven user navigation models are excellent, December 13, 2003
This book contains a lot of usable usability practices that really works! You can get literally all the details of usability testing practices in this book, as well as how to run them. And good amount of pages are spent for user needs analysis and task analysis as the first steps explaining Web site engineering approach.

When reading this book, my first impression was that many worksheets, checklists and forms were included throughout this book:
- Client Interview/Web Site Information Worksheet
- Goals checklist
- Sample of Web survey
- Focus Group Preparation Worksheet
- Information Architecture Review Checklist
- Mockup Checklist (in Envisioning Design)
- Mockup Style Review Form (in Envisioning Design)
- Writing Guidelines Checklist (in Web page writing)
- Form for Brainstorming Icons
- Form for Testing Whether an Icon Is Recognizable
- Problem Report and Resolution Form (in Pre-Launch)
- Problem Summary Report (in Pre-Launch)
- Postproduction Checklist
- Web Site Final Approval Form
- Minimal Maintenance Checklist
- A Detailed, General-Purpose Checklist (for Inspection)
- User Testing Preparation Worksheet (for Evaluation)
- Typical Testing Script (for User Testing)
- Consent Form (for User Testing)

These materials are really helpful in conducting actual usability testing to get effective results. And many concepts are also categorized, organized, and explained in a lot of tables.

In engaging Web usability testing, the most important thing is to understand your audiences. This book contains very specific way of putting them into action using scenario approach. The most impressive approach of this book is in enumerating user characteristics as seven user navigation models:
1. Omnipotent model: Because people have perfect knowledge, they don�ft err in any way.
2. Most rational model: People click interesting links only.
3. Minimum effort model: People behave in ways with least mental efforts.
4. Mental map model: First, people build their mental map according to the Web site structure. They don�ft use navigation in that site which doesn�ft fit with their mental map.
5. Repeat fixed ways: People like his own way. They repeat their fixed ways irrespective of their inefficiency.
6. Get nearby information: When handy resources are found nearby, people use them and don�ft go outside.
7. Cost-performance approach: Best strategy will be determined by this cost-performance approach.

One more important practice to develop a Web site that really works is to consider the �gInternational Differences�h such as languages, units, symbols, currencies, date & time, and conventions. These points are correctly addressed in this book to make your Web really workable in the international grounds as well.

This book is a really remarkable work from the point of usability practices. Don't miss this book!

My usability bible, October 2, 2002
When I'm working and need to grab a book to take into the bathroom, it has typically been something light and definitely not work-related. The Stranger, maybe, or a Bathroom Reader. However, ever since I bought "Usability for the Web", it's been my bathroom book. I've already read it cover to cover, but opening it to a random page and reading for 10-15 minutes (or, what the heck, even 45 minutes) always gets me thinking of ways to improve what I'm working on. As other reviews have stated, there is nothing groundbreaking about this book. However, this is the ONLY book you will need on web usability. In fact, this book effectively replaced my books on usability, design, and architecture. All of which I read, and mostly enjoyed, but few of which I will ever pick up again.

The design of the book is also very nice, easy to read and with full color throughout.

Finally, responding to one critique, the authors DO reference outside sources throughout the book. There is also a section at the back which includes additional references.

Great Usability Guide for Working Designers, November 8, 2001
Must say that I thoroughly like this book. I find it full of helpful, practical tips to get your usability going. As well, enjoy the varied perspective that multiple authors bring to one publication! Nice illustrations and forms too.

The best book for web usability..!, November 23, 2002
Unlike Jakob Nielsen who uses his personal opinion to judge web usability, Tom provides excellent explanation every aspect of usability based on the scientific research. This is the best book to learn and know about web usability. - LT

One more thing to make it more usable..., May 1, 2003
This book is great and very informative, however the only thing I would change (perhaps for a second edition) would be to make it spiral bound so it could lay flat while I am using it at work, which would also make it easier to photocopy the different checklists (very helpful!).

Most elaborate book, February 6, 2003
This is one of the best books ive ever read from any category. The author's flow from chapter to chapter is excellent. He describes in very good detail the pitfalls that many websites fall into by sacrificing appearance for usability. He makes his convincing case why the central focus of websites should be usability which is indeed rarely emphasized. The book elaborates as to the various stages you should involve users and various members of your design team into your development. Definately a keeper.

Where are references citations in text?, March 12, 2002
A good web usability book for practitioners. Academics wise, the book lacks of in-text references. In so far, I have not seen any references cited in the text and I don't think all ideas presented are of authors themselves. Correct me if I am wrong.
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