Quote from page 21: "The user experience development process is all about ensuring that no aspect of the user's experience with your site happens without your conscious, explicit intent."

I do not agree with this. You simply can't ensure that the user experience follows some script. Indeed, many web sites are dedicated to helping people explore and create. Caring about the details is good, but if you get insane about controlling all of the details, you are asking for trouble.

Posted by: John S. Rhodes on December 15, 2002 10:17 PM

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John, I do agree with that quote, although my interpretation may be different to yours.

I think that a designer should be able to explain the thinking behind every aspect of their design. That is not to say the the user will agree with the decisions made, or even make sense of the design, but the designer must be able to explain the rationale for their design.

The designer should have considered the 5001 individual details of the system and the human interaction involved. Their solutions may not be the most popular ones, but are they consistent with the designers overall vision of the system?

I would rather use a misguided design that was consistent and actually had the fingerprints of a designer on it, rather than a bland, lowest common denominator, system that felt like it had been designed by a committee.

Posted by: Mac on December 16, 2002 08:28 AM

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The bizarre thing is that I don't think I learned too much.
Sounds like you were expecting something different. What and why?

Posted by: Ron Zeno on December 16, 2002 10:58 PM

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Ron,

I expected some new ideas. Nearly everything I read in the book, I had read before. (That's really the crux of it.) However, I liked the way Jesse put together a great overview of user-centered design, and he did it in a short, easy-to-read book. Of course, given Jesse's talent, the diagrams were excellent.

Posted by: John S. Rhodes on December 16, 2002 11:16 PM

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John, I haven't read the book. (Not available in India.) Could you please tell me if the preface says anything about the intended audience of the book? Is it UX professionals or is it management?

Perhaps it's possible that it's not written for people like us. Perhaps.

Mac, the problem is with the assumption that you can predict accurately every possible reason for users visiting your site and every action they will take. In my experience, you will always have some surprises when you find out what certain users wanted. Sometimes, it's not possible to satisfy the user, no matter how hard you tried.

That doesn't mean, of course, that you don't think things through.

Posted by: MadMan on December 17, 2002 12:32 PM

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Jesse said: "The user experience development process is all about ensuring that no aspect of the user's experience with your site happens without your conscious, explicit intent."

And John said: I do not agree with this. You simply can't ensure that the user experience follows some script.

I haven't read the book, but I don't think JJG is talking about being able to predict everything the user does and trying to funnel them through the site a certain way. My take on that quote is that he is talking about being very conscious of the user when designing a website, and crafting the site so that he walks away with a certain impression. It isn't limited to usability, or site flow/organization, or content.

Take the example of getting a certain feel for a company across in the design of the site. If you want, you can make a site that conveys power, elegance, but a certain professional detachment. You can take the same content and create a site that is fun, friendly, personable. Amazon leans more towards fun and friendly rather than huge and impersonal, for instance. That is what crafting the user experience is about, and when you do it that way, every element you design is part of that. "Gold box", or "Cheap Deals"?

I'm not sure if I got that idea across clearly, but that's what I read into the quote.

Posted by: Lydia on December 17, 2002 06:27 PM

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Lydia, could you point me to some sites that you think convey "power, elegance, but a certain professional detachment". I'm serious here. I love that image. :)

Posted by: MadMan on December 18, 2002 12:33 AM

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Well, MadMan, since you asked me so nice-like, how about http://www.ibm.com? The US site, at least, does just that. Despite the happy stock photos (or perhaps because of), there's a certain feeling at the site, sort of like when you go on corporate tours and a very pretty, perpetually smiling tour guide is extending her arm to hurry you to the next section.

Posted by: Lydia on December 19, 2002 09:17 PM

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