Usability for the Web. Designing Web Sites that Work.: Designing Web Sites That Work (Morgan Kaufmann) (Interactive Technologies) [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

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!

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.

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!