|
By
Pete Czech - 7/1/2002
Usability
has become a buzzword in recent years as web builders focus more
and more on presenting information quickly and easily to their
users. Most usability guides concentrate on the individual aspects
of the user experience – making general assumptions that they
feel should apply to all websites. But each website is different,
and what works on one site may not work on another. Indeed, good
usability depends on the site itself – its content, purpose and
user base.
Usability:
The Site Speaks for Itself is perhaps one of the best usability
guides on the market today simply because the authors realize
that the user experience isn’t based upon a set bunch of rules,
but is in reality a constantly evolving science dependant upon
various factors. Rather than being written by one self-proclaimed
guru, this book was compiled by 7 different authors, all professional
web designers and programmers who share their experiences building
web sites from conception on through to completion (if such a
thing exists on the web anyway). The book consists of a comprehensive
introduction by Molly Holzschlag – one of the pioneers of the
web - and then studies each website in detail. Included as case
studies:
- BBCNews.com
– Moving a TV medium to the web, as well as usability requirements
for different sub-sites, including sports and children’s site.
- Economist.com
– How the website was created to closely parallel the branding
of the print magazine, as well as how to establish a subscription
model in addition to free content.
- eBay
– Designing an e-commerce application for 46 million users and
maintaining a usable design.
- Synfonts.com
– How Flash can be utilized for the purposes of online commerce
– enhancing the experience for SynFonts’ users.
- Evolt.org
– How to be usable and compatible across multiple platforms
and browsers, yet not lose your design characteristics.
- MetaFilter
– A community and how it maintained a usable approach despite
having no capital to work with.
Before
each case study is written, you find out a little bit about each
author personally, which helps you understand how they work and
what they like. Also, each chapter ends with a showcase of usable
products and other items that the author appreciates. For example,
David Wertheimer from The Economist thinks that post-it notes
and the Apple iPod are examples of products that are intuitive
and useful.
Conclusion
Usability:
The Site Speaks for Itself definitely stands out as one of
the best books available today on creating usable websites. It
stresses that different techniques work on different sites, which
is an aspect that is often overlooked when discussing usability.
The case studies included are great examples of how to develop
a web project into a full-fledged website in a short period of
time. This book is extremely important for project managers, as
well as designers who are looking for some guidance before beginning
a large project. Highly recommended!
|
