Rating: 
Summary: Poor
Review: False assumptions, questionable methodologies. Not an academic study? Does that excuse the authors lack of rigour? Just another example of wishy-washy muddle headed thinking masquerading as a "study". One of the worst books (quite a dubious distinction, given much of the crap that is out there) I've read. Fraudulent.
Rating: 
Summary: Very useful and easy to read
Review: I am a beginner and this book definitely helped me learn many important things. I particularly appreciated the practical aspects, the good and bad examples and the way the authors always invited to more research into one topic/issue/field rather than going ahead and assuming they know everything thanks to the research they did.
Rating: 
Summary: Useful information, but based on old Web sites
Review: I appreciate the research of Jared Spool et al at User Interface Engineering, and have consulted it often as I review and design user interface elements. I will, no doubt, do the same with this book. It helps that I've been a longtime fan of the Edmunds.com site, which was part of the research this book reports. Now my gut feeling about that site's good usability is backed up by a usability-study report.But wait! Edmunds.com has been redesigned since 1997, which is when this usability study took place. So have most, if not all, of the other sites. This book's screen shots of the sites in the study make the book look like a museum of the 1997 World Wide Web. These sites actually look quaint! I wonder whether this book's findings have decayed and have become less useful. My concern is not stopping me from using this book as a reference tool, but I do reserve some skepticism in applying its results.
Rating: 
Summary: Good data without a lot of opinion
Review: I can appreciate that often an author becomes experienced enough that he/she can accurately state opinions. These authors are certainly qualified to do so, yet skip the ego boost and simply present their findings, making this a valuable reference tool. I have both this book and Jakob Neilsen's book of an almost exactly similar title. I use this book far more often. In fact, I've purchased several copies for others on my team. Plus, you can easily read it on a flight. Some complain that it lacks directives. Jared accurately states that the immaturity of web interfaces relative to OS specific interfaces creates an environment where the experts are without all the answers. In which case, we as creative people must leverage all facts and make choices we feel most productive. This book will help the person who approaches problems creatively. It will not help those looking for cookie cutter solutions for difficult problems.
Rating:
Summary: Good data without a lot of opinion
Review: I can appreciate that often an author becomes experienced enough that he/she can accurately state opinions. These authors are certainly qualified to do so, yet skip the ego boost and simply present their findings, making this a valuable reference tool. I have both this book and Jakob Neilsen's book of an almost exactly similar title. I use this book far more often. In fact, I've purchased several copies for others on my team. Plus, you can easily read it on a flight. Some complain that it lacks directives. Jared accurately states that the immaturity of web interfaces relative to OS specific interfaces creates an environment where the experts are without all the answers. In which case, we as creative people must leverage all facts and make choices we feel most productive. This book will help the person who approaches problems creatively. It will not help those looking for cookie cutter solutions for difficult problems.
Rating:
Summary: Poor Methodology and Unsubstantiated Conclusions
Review: I found the idea for the book good, but the execution VERY poor. Their methodology was poor at best and they jumped to conclusions with very little to back them up. Here is an example of their questionable methodology: They ranked the web site based on three data points which they choose AFTER they gather a bunch of data and did some analysis. Here is an example of their jumping to conclusions: They concluded the user don't form mental models of web site solely based on the fact that they didn't use the Go menu to return to previously visited sites. I can think of many, many reasons why the users would not use the Go menu and it has nothing to do with the absence of mental models. Besides, you try to form a mental model on up to 9 sites within a maximum of 3 hours while doing a goal-orientated task.
Rating:
Summary: Informative and eye opening!!!
Review: I found this book to be quite helpful in preparation for designing a website. Since the website I am designing is strictly informational in nature, I learned many new concepts not only about the basics of a good informational site, but also about the “cruising” habits of web readers. The book is a quick read and I took many notes, but the important thing that I gleaned from this book was how to make my site informational, easy to navigate through and what works and does not work as far as design and color are concerned. As a cruiser myself, I know what bores me, irritates me, frustrates ma and what appeals to me when I am on a mission to find information and when I want to find it fast. The information contained in this little was quite valuable in that regard. This is NOT a book about design and the use of color, etc., but instead a book about making a site usable to the “cruiser” and then giving you, the reader, the information on how to attract users to your site, so that they won’t get irritated or frustrated. Admit it, we all have been to those sites!! I think one might be surprised when reading this book, that color, tons of pictures and graphics are not key elements in an informational website, and our preconceived notions will quickly be laid to rest! Very good book for a “newbie” starting out on the road to web-design as well as seasoned designers.
Rating:
Summary: Informative and eye opening!!!
Review: I found this book to be quite helpful in preparation for designing a website. Since the website I am designing is strictly informational in nature, I learned many new concepts not only about the basics of a good informational site, but also about the “cruising” habits of web readers. The book is a quick read and I took many notes, but the important thing that I gleaned from this book was how to make my site informational, easy to navigate through and what works and does not work as far as design and color are concerned. As a cruiser myself, I know what bores me, irritates me, frustrates ma and what appeals to me when I am on a mission to find information and when I want to find it fast. The information contained in this little was quite valuable in that regard. This is NOT a book about design and the use of color, etc., but instead a book about making a site usable to the “cruiser” and then giving you, the reader, the information on how to attract users to your site, so that they won’t get irritated or frustrated. Admit it, we all have been to those sites!! I think one might be surprised when reading this book, that color, tons of pictures and graphics are not key elements in an informational website, and our preconceived notions will quickly be laid to rest! Very good book for a “newbie” starting out on the road to web-design as well as seasoned designers.
Rating:
Summary: This book shows and tells what works.
Review: If your thinking style if that of a pragmatist and you are more concerned with what works at your website, versus being either idealistic, analytic or artistic about it, this is the book for you.
Rating:
Summary: Completely Unusable
Review: It appears that the authors lack experience in designing usable web interfaces and try to translate experience from software UI design. They draw conclusions like "designing a site that users like and designing a site that they can use may be conflicting goals" and "In any case, we cannot depend on user satisfaction to indicate a usable web site." The methodology behind the tests is good. The occlusions that the authors draw are down right ridiculous.
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