Chapter 10: "Usability as a Common Courtesy".
Krug describes in his first few paragraphs a frustrating scenario every web surfer knows and has experienced -- looking for information that is clearly 1. not there 2. not acknowledged and 3. ignored. And this is a problem that we as designers need to realize before the surfers realize it. We must fix the problem before there is a problem; we must anticipate what the user wants and give it to them before they ask. And we must have the courtesy to make it visible and easily accessible- because it’s what the user wants. It comes down the one rule: “the user is always right”. And this includes more that just information that is given to the user, it’s also information that is asked of the user. For example, contact information and personal data should not have to be configured by the user. The user wants a thoughtless process; therefore, we must give them the easiest configuration possible. In short, the designer must be one step ahead- at all times. Designers increase the “goodwill” to the user when the things they want are obvious and in the shortest route possible. And users notice the effort put into making them happy.
Chapter 11: Accessibility, Cascading Style Sheets and You: Just when you think you're done a cat floats by with buttered toast strapped to its back.
This chapter brings in the designer and the usability expert- and the challenge of merging both visions. While the designer seems to have the world at their feet to design this website, there is a box that limits the design capabilities the developer programs: it must be user friendly to all who use it, including the people with special needs. Essentially, the developer is the bones of the website- all of the intricacies and the way it breathes is the concern of the developer. The designer then puts a flare of creativity and overall aesthetics to the piece and enhances the skeleton the developer produces. It is difficult however to be creative while playing to a strict rule-book. And this is what Krug states as the “usability problems”.
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