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Usability for the Web

Designing Web Sites that Work

  • 1st Edition - October 15, 2001
  • Latest edition
  • Authors: Tom Brinck, Darren Gergle, Scott D. Wood
  • Language: English

Every stage in the design of a new web site is an opportunity to meet or miss deadlines and budgetary goals. Every stage is an opportunity to boost or undercut the site's us… Read more

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Description

Every stage in the design of a new web site is an opportunity to meet or miss deadlines and budgetary goals. Every stage is an opportunity to boost or undercut the site's usability.Usability for the Web tells you how to design usable web sites in a systematic process applicable to almost any business need. You get practical advice on managing the project and incorporating usability principles from the project's inception. This systematic usability process for web design has been developed by the authors and proven again and again in their own successful businesses.

A beacon in a sea of web design titles, this book treats web site usability as a preeminent, practical, and realizable business goal, not a buzzword or abstraction. The book is written for web designers and web project managers seeking a balance between usability goals and business concerns.

Key features

  • Examines the entire spectrum of usability issues, including architecture, navigation, graphical presentation, and page structure.
  • Explains clearly the steps relevant to incorporating usability into every stage of the web development process, from requirements to tasks analysis, prototyping and mockups, to user testing, revision, and even postlaunch evaluations.

Readership

Web professionals who design and build sites or manage website design

Table of contents

Pervasive Usability Chapter 1. Usability throughout the Design Process Chapter 2. Target Audience and Target Platforms Chapter 3. User Needs Analysis Conceptual Design Chapter 4. Task Analysis Chapter 5. Information Architecture Mockups and Prototypes Chapter 6. Page Layout Chapter 7. Envisioning Design Production Chapter 8. Writing for the Web Chapter 9. Design Elements Chapter 10. Usability in Software Development Launch Chapter 11. Pre-Launch and Post-Launch Evaluation Chapter 12. Usability Evalutation

Review quotes

"It's an incredibly good read. It rattles along at a good rate, is packed full of good advice and I had the distinct impression that here was real web usability."Xristine Faulkner, CISE, SBU.

Product details

  • Edition: 1
  • Latest edition
  • Published: October 15, 2001
  • Language: English

About the authors

TB

Tom Brinck

Tom Brinck is chief usability officer at Diamond Bullet Design, a firm specializing in web site design and usability consulting. Tom has M.S. degrees in computer science and cognitive psychology from Stanford University and the University of Michigan. He has done user interface research at Apple Computer, Toshiba, and Bellcore and is currently an adjunct faculty member at University of Michigan's School of Information.
Affiliations and expertise
Diamond Bullet Design, Ann Arbor, MI

DG

Darren Gergle

Darren Gergle is a Ph.D. student in human-computer interaction at Carnegie Mellon University. Before beginning his graduate work, he was lead designer at Diamond Bullet Design.
Affiliations and expertise
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA

SW

Scott D. Wood

Scott D. Wood is a senior scientist at Soar Technology, an R&D company focused on cognitive modeling, AI, and information visualization. He has more than ten years experience in software development, e-business consulting, cognitive modeling, and HCI. He holds a Ph.D. in computer science and engineering from the University of Michigan.
Affiliations and expertise
Soar Technology, Inc., Ann Arbor, MI

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