Review: The Elements Provide a Tool for Educating and Explaining

No aspect of a Web site's user experience should be left to chance. That's the overarching message in Jesse James Garrett's new book "The Elements of User Experience". A useful Web site is built by being explicit and deliberate. The author reminds readers that meeting technical requirements for a website is not the same as meeting user requirements. So then how does a Web development team meet this challenge? By following a layered or phased approach within the development process.

Inspired by a diagram created by the author, the book expands on the initial visual map developed by Garrett over two years ago. The diagram and the development process explained in this book is divided into five sections; strategy, scope, structure, skeleton, and surface. The book goes through each phase and offers a detail overview to the reader.

This book is an informative and useful tool that serves as a model and a resource for the Web development process. With only 173 pages, it is a quick read, it will take only a few hours of reading time... perhaps a train journey. Web development teams would find this book useful, from project managers, to developers, designers and information architects.

grace de la flor

Associated Link: Jesse James Garrett's website

All change at the top for System Concepts
Source: System Concepts Ltd, 3 July 2009
 
Leslie Fountain has been promoted to joint Managing Director of leading usability consultancy System Concepts.

Life in UCD immortalised in fiction: you couldn't make it up
Source: UN, 2 July 2009
 
Sarah Herman's fictitious book on life in a user-centred design company has hit the shelves and The Guardian's book pages...

Interfaces Magazine - Issue 79: The Education Issue
Source: Interaction Group, 1 July 2009
 
The latest issue of Interfaces is now available as a free download from the Interaction Website.

Two new Behavioural research Tools from Noldus
Source: UN, 30 June 2009
 
Tool updates make on-site behavioural data collection easier.

Cell Phones that Listen and Learn
Source: MIT Technology Review, 29 June 2009
 
New software tracks a user's behavior by monitoring everyday sounds.

Top Six Don’ts for Usability Testing
Source: FutureNow Inc., 27 June 2009
 
Six tips for creating quality usability tests to ensure useful feedback from testers.

Usability: ‘Lovely software. But I can’t work it’
Source: FT.com, 26 June 2009
 
In a recent survey by Global Graphics, 77 per cent of office workers estimate they lose up to one hour a week because business software is difficult to use.

And what do you do?
Source: Dexo Design, 25 June 2009
 
How do you describe your job role? Here are the results of a recent 'Preferred UX/UI Title' Poll.

Most Doctors cite Usability as critical to Electronic Health Record Adoption
Source: TMCNet, 24 June 2009
 
It's all about 'meaningful use'.

Glossy monitors look good but can hurt
Source: QUT, 23 June 2009
 
A new advisory cites research which suggests high gloss monitors make users sit awkwardly.