This book lays out some clear and obviously effective principles of usability that I would definitely look over before tackling interface design. Krug reminds us that ‘ease of use’ is easily the make or break deal for any website. “It’s a fact: People won’t use your web site if they can’t find their way around it.” Here we get proof again, that user experience is the key to any successful type of website.

While some of the stuff may be obvious, or maybe just be obvious to me, I found his style to be amusing and a reflection of what really goes on in the head of the designer when it comes to designing and the politics surrounding it. His axioms are helpful for any beginners trying to rehaul a horribly designed website, but they don’t help with any complex problems of interaction. Perhaps Steve Krug willl explain those in another book.

More than finding the book useful for myself, the book is actually a good way to bridge understanding between yourself and non-designers. In fact, I came up with this 1-page summary of Don't Make Me Think here.

Ironic that this book makes the reader think - think about design and views on life, all at once. An excellent book for stimulating the brain to think and view the world in new ways.

What I liked:

- The simple language used to explain normally complex matters.

- The good humor, examples, and metaphors the writer employs to explain things; they really work.

Now the drawbacks:

- I find the information in the book to be a little too simplistic and common sense. Even for people with only an interest in the area of web usability, they may find that they already know, or at least have thought in a very similar way when they browse daily.

- I understand that this isn't a scientific book, and the author does refer to Nielsen a couple of times, but all in all, the knowledge in this book comes directly from the writer's mind, with very few scientific sources to confirm what is being said.

- Even though the second edition is from 2005, almost eight years have passed, and most of the webpage elements he focuses on in the book aren't really that commonly used anymore. Still, this isn't the author's fault. Books age, and so does the content they contain.

My boss sent me a copy of this book. It is a fun quick read. All books are helpful to get you thinking and I got some new ideas while reading it that I can apply to work.

I am giving it less stars because I work with a UI/UX team and so most of what it says I think we already do. Other aspects, like testing, I think we already have worked out, and at the moment I don't need to do too much with mobile applications.

I liked his definition of usability:
•tUseful: Does it do something people need done?
•tLearnable: Can people figure out how to use it?
•tMemorable: Do they have to relearn it each time they use it?
•tEffective: Does it get the job done?
•tEfficient: Does it do it with a reasonable amount of time and effort?
•tDesirable: Do people want it?
•tDelightful: Is using it enjoyable, or even fun?

The author did make the book fun. He uses references from various pop culture with humorous footnotes to pages. He also had some fun flowcharts showing how people get frustrated when searching in sears or in a website. I enjoyed reading the book but found myself skimming a little on what I already felt I knew.

a pensive book for developers
Every developer needs to read it.
It makes me think deeply about usability and accessibility.
For example, after I read a chapter on accessibility, I decided to design a website that could be helpful for blind people. Its main purpose is to help us have a better life. Because we use the software more than anything else now. You are reading my review on a website or on an application. Steve Krug's style makes me have a smile on my face while reading and understand it very well.

For what is worth, I think the information is very useful and some of it is kinda up to date but at the same time it is mostly about web design. If you are looking for info/advice for platform UX this is not a book for you. It took me more than a year to finish it since it wasn’t that interesting for me and what I’m working on.

realizing i have this problem with ux books where the core principles are all so obvious/intuitive that they feel impossible to retain and apply — perhaps one simply must Learn By Doing

I'd bet most people could pick up a thing or two from it no matter how much web experience you have. Also, its a fairly short book, which was good.

Still I think i was thinking it would have been more focused on best practices in web design, and it was a bit broader than that. More of a jumping off point than anything else.

Great book for any developers that want to take a look inside a user's head, better understanding their behaviors and how to influence them.
This should be a reference book, read from time to time.

Books about design need to pass one critical test. They must be well-designed, and this book is. Among the bits of knowledge Krug sprinkles, good web design is like the layout in a big box store, you should be able to look up and find signs that point you in the right direction. There is one crucial different between a brick and mortar store and its online counterpart: if you can’t navigate your way to what you want in a store, you can always ask someone. On the web that’s not possible, so web sites live and die by how easy they are to use.

Here’s an insight: most people think users hate making lots of clicks to find their way to way to what they want. Not true. Users want to know that the search will be fruitful. They also want to find the right links intiatively and they want to be able to retrace their steps quickly if they turn down a wrong alley.

I strongly recommend this book for anyone, novices and experts, who are serious about web design.

My only regret is that I didn’t read this book before I started to develop my company’s portal.

عندما فتحت المساحة المخصصة للمراجعة كنت أنوي الكتابة بالإنجليزية، لكن دافع قومي ربما جعلني أكتب بالعربية
الكتاب جيد و دمه خفيف، وشرحه واضح جداً، لكن موجه بشكل كبير للمواقع التجارية
لكن مثلا المواقع الحكومية، المواقع التعليمية كلها تحتاج معايير لقابلية الاستخدام تختلف عن الموجودة في الكتاب، لكن المجال كما بدا لي مفتوح وفي البدايات و يحتاج للكثير
أيضا مصممي الأنظمة و قواعد البيانات، و واجهاتها بحاجة لقابلية الاستخدام وتحديد بعض المعايير لقابلية الاستخدام أيضا

MUST READ for anyone with any say over the look & feel of a commercial web page (designers, managers, marketing people, executives, etc.). It's a quick and easy read and is like having my own web usability consultant.

Goodreads and LOTS of other sites should have their managment teams read this.