Don't Make Me Think
Encyclopedia
Don't Make Me Think is a book by Steve Krug about human-computer interaction and web usability
. The book's premise is that a good software program or web site should let users accomplish their intended tasks as easily and directly as possible. Krug points out that people are good at satisficing, or taking the first available solution to their problem, so design should take advantage of this. He frequently cites Amazon.com
as an example of a well-designed web site that manages to allow high-quality interaction, even though the web site gets bigger and more complex every day.
The book itself is intended to be an example of concision
(brevity) and well-focused writing. The goal, according to the book's introduction, was to make a text that could be read by an executive on a two-hour flight of an airplane.
Web usability
Web usability is the application of usability in those domains where web browsing can be considered as a general paradigm for constructing a GUI.-General:...
. The book's premise is that a good software program or web site should let users accomplish their intended tasks as easily and directly as possible. Krug points out that people are good at satisficing, or taking the first available solution to their problem, so design should take advantage of this. He frequently cites Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
as an example of a well-designed web site that manages to allow high-quality interaction, even though the web site gets bigger and more complex every day.
The book itself is intended to be an example of concision
Concision
Concision refers generally to brevity, or the practice of using no more words than necessary to describe an idea. In the context of media criticism, the word concision is also used to describe the practice of limiting debate and discussion of important topics on broadcast news on the basis of...
(brevity) and well-focused writing. The goal, according to the book's introduction, was to make a text that could be read by an executive on a two-hour flight of an airplane.
External links
- "Review of Don't Make Me Think", www.smileycat.com.
- "book description on author's website",www.sensible.com