Don't Make Me Think! second edition
2007-01-06
http://uxd.forumone.com/archives/94-Dont-Make-Me-Think!-second-edition.html
by nospam@example.com (Courtney Clark)
Don't Make Me Think! book coverSteve Krug has come out with a second edition of Don't Make Me Think! A Common Sense Guide to Web Usability. It's short. It's funny. I read all the footnotes.
The first edition was published nearly five years ago. Since then the state of the web has changed considerably. However, most of Krug's lessons and recommendations remain pertinent.
What has been added? There are three new chapters:
Usability as common courtesy - about the importance of treating users well
Accessibility, CSS, and you - about accommodating all users
Help! My boss wants me to . - provides ammunition against bad design decisions
What has been deleted? The three chapters in the first edition about user testing have been condensed into one. You can still find the original chapters on Krug's website.
Some quotes I enjoyed:
"If you're not sure whether something is happy talk, there's one sure-fire test: If you listen very closely while you're reading it, you can actually hear a tiny voice in the back of your head saying, 'Blah blah blah blah blah....'"
- from the chapter Omit Needless Words (pg 46)
"On the face of it, 'number of clicks to get anywhere' seems like a useful criteria. But over time I've come to think that what really counts is not the number of clicks it takes me to get to what I want (although there are limits), but rather how hard each click is - the amount of thought required, and the amount of uncertainty about whether I'm making the right choice."
- from the chapter Animal, vegetable, or mineral? (pg 41)
"We're thinking 'great literature' (or at least 'product brochure'), while the user's reality is much closer to 'billboard going by at 60 miles an hour.'"
- from the chapter How we really use the Web (pg 21)
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