[CLUE-Talk] Books on software usability

[Matt Gushee]

On Sun, Apr 21, 2002 at 11:49:54AM -0600, Chris K. Chew wrote:
> 
> We also read Jacob Nielsen's book, and were very disappointed.  He is
> extremely critical, and wants very boring website designs.  You can see for
> yourself his own website, www.useit.com, which he considers to be absolutely
> perfect.  True it is usable, but it definitely lacks in the "user
> experience" department.  He shuns any fancy thing that might possibly
> obstruct a users navigation.

Well, he's extremely mild compared to Eric Raymond. And I have a couple
of questions:

 Is being critical necessarily a bad thing? My feeling is that Nielsen
   is in many cases pointing out unpleasant truths about the web. Should
   he try to make us feel good about technologies and practices that 
   really are not good?
 Do users visit your site to have an "experience?" Although I have an
   opinion on this (I think Nielsen's 'no' is too dogmatic, but he is
   generally right), I'm not asking this rhetorically. I'm interested
   to hear what people think about this.

Personally, I feel the same way about over-designed web sites as I do
about Safeway (for those of you outside the Western or Southern US,
Safeway is the largest grocery chain in this area). I detest the place
because the cashiers are always badgering me about the benefits of having
a Club Card. And if I pay with my debit card, they read my name on the
printout and call me "Mr. Gushee," as if they knew me. It's a frigging
grocery store! I just want to buy groceries and go. I believe most users
feel the same about most web sites.

As for Nielsen's web site, I don't know what gives you the idea he
considers it to be "absolutely perfect." He says that most sites have
too many graphics, and believes that a completely image-free design is
appropriate for the content of his site. And he may suggest that designers
follow his example ... but I don't think following his example means
precisely mimicking his practices, do you?

Less-is-more-ly yours,
Matt

-- 
Matt Gushee
Englewood, Colorado, USA
mgushee at havenrock.com
http://www.havenrock.com/