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WebWord Weblog Posting Posting Date: November 03, 2002 My Eight Favorite Usability Books (WebWord) -- "Below is a list of my favorite usability, human factors, and web design books. If I did not own these books, I would buy them. I find myself going back to these books again and again. A couple of them have been replaced because I've worn them out. These are the books that I recommend to other people all of the time. Simply put, if I did not have them available to reference and read, I would feel like my library was not complete."
Reader Comments...
These are my seven favorite books. As I said, these are books that I use all of the time and really like them, for one reason or another. I'm sure that some people won't agree with me and I'm sure that there are other great books available. This is just one data point! Please feel free to list your favorite usability books. If you are an Amazon affiliate, and you link to Amazon, be sure to use affiliate link. If you hate Amazon, uh, sorry.
So what is it bubba? Seven or eight? Posted by: Cheese Witherspoon on November 3, 2002 11:39 PM
Bubba responds: Greater than seven but less than nine. Posted by: John S. Rhodes on November 3, 2002 11:44 PM
1) The Essential Guide to User Interface Design 2) The Visual Display of Quantitative Information Not strictly usability books: 4) Influence: the psychology of persuasion 6) Sources of power: How People Make Decisions 7) Rain Making: The Professional's Guide to Attracting New Clients 8) Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers 9) Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind 13) The Ten-Day MBA
Damn, the link to the first book is farked. Please click on this one instead: The Essential Guide to User Interface Design Posted by: MadMan on November 4, 2002 01:14 AM
Freder. Nice link. Of course, no one here is going to get rich from affiliate links. It is mostly pocket change. For me, it simply reduces hosting costs. End of story. I think it would be more interesting to take a look at wishlists. People might want to post them here. If nothing else, it would be interesting to see how many books overlap. Also, since many of us have similar interests, maybe there are some gems we have overlooked. Posted by: John S. Rhodes on November 4, 2002 10:13 AM
Here's my Amazon wishlist. Not that many user experience books on it, but it should give you an idea of the kind of stuff I read. Posted by: MadMan on November 4, 2002 11:10 AM
Freder, in the past two years, I've made about $45 from affiliate links. Not exactly making me a millionaire. I only posted these here because John explicitly asked us to list our favourite books with affiliate links. I'd like to add that apart from usability, my list of books helps to make one a more rounded professional. There's marketing, psychology, logic & reasoning, and how to succeed in business. Posted by: MadMan on November 4, 2002 11:18 AM
MadMan, Bringing Design To Software (quite a few chapters) Posted by: Mac on November 4, 2002 11:34 AM
Christina Wodtke's IA book Blueprints for the web and the glasshaus Accessibility book - not cause I'm trying to sell it to y'all, but 'cause I'm just really proud of it. Posted by: glasshaus Bruce on November 4, 2002 12:57 PM
I'm waiting for John Scott Rhodes to write a book. :p Thanks for that link, Mac. Posted by: MadMan on November 4, 2002 01:02 PM
Oh, I'm so frustrated! I just got a very good book called (I think) simply "Design of Web Sites" (I was more excited about the content and the way it was arranged and didn't really memorize the title) - I can't find a link for it and the book itself is at home. I'll try to bring it tomorrow and look it up by ISBN. Joel Spolksy's book and Steve Krug's were must-haves for me. I also like both of Tog's books: "Tog on Software Design" and "Tog on Interface." Hm... I sense a pattern emerging. I like to read books by down-to-earth types that weave humor and anecdotes into their stuff. Only this new book and a couple of really excellent O'Rielly books on my shelf move away from that. Even my JavaScript reference books are that way. Posted by: Lydia on November 4, 2002 03:38 PM
1. "...glasshaus Accessibility book..." -- I agree. Great book. It almost made my list! 2. "I'm waiting for John Scott Rhodes to write a book. :p" -- That is on my agenda (Right Bruce?). Really. I'll try to get to it next year. Right now I'm working on the secret project. It is eating up all my time. Posted by: John S. Rhodes on November 4, 2002 04:31 PM
Lydia: Could this be the book you are thinking of? Chapter 1 of this book says five elements determine how users/customers perceive a Web site: ease of use, content, overall performance, brand value/trustworthiness. overall satisfaction. The authors’ solution to improve Web sites in these areas is to use customer-centered design. Chapter 2 of the book says one can simplify Web design by noting patterns that reoccur in Web sites. The use of relevant patterns, allows Web designers to design new sites quickly. Several more chapters in the book are used to further explain how the authors use customer centered design, but the bulk of the book is devoted to presenting common patterns found in Web sites. An example of the treatement of patterns in the book is pattern group H which covers patterns that help customers complete tasks discusses. These include creating a process funnel to guide customers through completing an order, user account creation and use, context sensitive help, and some other issues.
Not directly about usability, but indirectly all about usability. I Sing the Body Electronic - A Year with Microsoft on the Multimedia Frontier A great story, telling the tale of the development of a multimedia project for kids that was supposed to be encarta for kids, but turned out to be a disaster (I think). If you read this book you will understand why Microsoft Bob and Clippy might have seemed like a good idea. Software Craftmanship - The New Imperative Programming is a craft. This book examines the craft of programming, and how we need to learn lessons from the past, if we are not going to continue making the same old mistakes again and again and again....
"Taking your Talent to the Web - A Guide for the Transitioning Designer." Great if you have background in commercial art/copy. Posted by: Fall Guy on November 5, 2002 03:13 AM
>You forgot to close your tag :P I'm putting in this comment just to prevent an outbreak of links on the page. John can edit both comments later. Posted by: madman on November 5, 2002 05:32 AM
I maintain a large cross-discipline reading list at elasticspace including usability, IA, visual design, and interaction design. Posted by: Timo on November 5, 2002 05:50 AM
Kent, you rock! That is exactly the book. Very good, and engrossing. I just love his layout, and the way he refers to other sections seamlessly and without getting in your face or making it difficult. That is what made me read deeper, and I was very pleased with what I found. Posted by: Lydia on November 5, 2002 03:32 PM
Nice one, Glasshaus. I suggest that everyone interested in Web accessibility buy all the books on the topic, including mine. Mine first, preferably. Note the absence of a self-promoting link. Posted by: Joe Clark on November 5, 2002 04:54 PM
I do a lot of reading/grazing/research at bookstores, but I don't buy all the books. Hell, I can't afford it - most of those books are $50 or more (especially the Jakobian kind). So, I like to see what others read. If I respect what they have to say, I'll give those books a closer look. Posted by: Lydia on November 5, 2002 05:39 PM
"Love is the Killer App" - Tim Sanders. Great reading. Anyone else read it? - http://www.timsanders.com/ Posted by: daniel szuc on November 9, 2002 07:59 PM
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