Win A Usability Library!

Eric Foster

 · Tuesday, June 16
I'm actually a support manager looking to learn more about usability. I'm looking for some self education books and this looks like a great place to start. Even if I don't win I'll certainly start reading these!

Jaime Camphorst

 · Wednesday, June 17
I'm an interaction designer with a passion for usability. It's actually one of my performance objectives this year to lead and conduct usability testing. I'm looking to learn whatever I can from books to experts within the IxDA community. I've observed usability testing, but never have conducted or gathered the data. I'm looking to learn and become the key point within my company and group for usability. - Jaime

Somnath Lokesh

 · Wednesday, June 17
Awesome website.

Luc Lapierre

 · Wednesday, June 17
I'm a web designer in a team of one for a large corporation. Usability is one of my biggest interest and I try to push it in all of the company division. It is a very interesting challenge for me and these book added to my personal collection would be a great help. I already have "Don't Make Me Think" so I'll be willing to give it away to someone else in the case that I'm the winner.

Even if there is not a lot of great website about usability, usereffect is one of my fave!

Great work! keep on!

Kevin Ushko

 · Wednesday, June 17
I was involved in user experience work until about 7 years ago when I was laid off. Since then I've been working on web development and I've tried to keep up on user experience and occasionally trying to practice it on the Web Development projects I've been working on.

I would really like to get back into User Experience work, and my current manager wants me to help him set up a User Experience practice within our team. I would also educate our team and our organization about the value of dedicated User Experience resources.

This library would be a great addition to a small collection that I started years ago. My most recent book is from 2000, and they all seem a little dated.

Thanks for this great opportunity.

Hubert Gaulin

 · Wednesday, June 17
Old school developpers are robots and they develop for robots.

As a new web developer, as much as I want to apply usability methods for the humans that will use our site, I need to learn how to convince robots that their users are not like them and why. As an intructional design, usability is the wild horse that I need to tame. This is my chalenge and I'm looking for tools that will help me becoming a better usability developper and communicator. My usability food has been the web so far, it would be awesome to discover new dishes to grow from.

Thank you for this generous offer !

James Breeze

 · Saturday, June 20
Hi!
I'm a UX consultant in Sydney!
Never seem to be able to keep up with all the nooks coming out!
You've also given me some ideas to suggest at UX Bookclub!

@jamesbreeeze

LEE JEONG KI

 · Monday, June 22
I'm web Manager of Korea. We are planning for a website. IA design and UI design, it is the end result. Many are thinking about Usability. However, in Korea, using the test methodology, to have access is not easy. I really like the book list. A Korean translation of the same saw. I hope I can see that the books.

George Grigorita

 · Monday, June 22
Until recently I was a project manager for one of the leading websites in the publication and distribution of press releases businesses area in my country (RO). Now I'm thinking to start a business on my own, providing site auditing (SEO, usability, user experience) services.

I'm 24 and I've been online since 2001. I have a major in eMarketing and I suddenly figured it out that what I was referring all this time to as 'common sense' is in fact 'usability'. I believe that usability has a lot to do with basic common sense - just like anything in life.

I really like usability because it's - or at least it should be - the core of any online project. If a user / client can't reach the desired information / product, then it really doesn't matter that you have the most beautiful / original website on the net. Usability is all about giving to your clients / users what they want in a timely manner. It's not about what you want or what the marketing director wants. This is what most CEOs and site owners should understand.

Thanks for the recommendation of the books, one way or another, I will read them. :)

Sohil Vasa

 · Tuesday, June 23
Hi
I'm an enterprise application designer ,dealing with large amount of data. I am always in search for better way of user experience with large amount of data. Its being more crucial when user is manipulating with lot of data in a single page. And your suggested books can give me lot of good ideas.
Thanks for sharing books recommendation.

Jestep

 · Tuesday, June 23
I noticed Jakob Nielsen's books aren't on there, not sure if you've read his or not. I consider his books the biblical text of usability...

Coincidentally, I have every one of these books with the exception of Information Architecture for the World Wide Web and The tipping point. I'll definitely be checking these out.

Dr. Pete

 · Tuesday, June 23
Thanks, everyone. I think there was some initial confusion about the contest rules - I was originally looking for outside blog posts, but I've decided to go ahead and consider all of the comments and emails, so consider yourselves all in the running.

@Jestep - Actually "Homepage Usability" is one of Nielsen's books, but it admittedly isn't one of the core ones you usually see mentioned. Even though the book is a few years old and not one of his more frequently cited, I think it's very accessible and appropriate for a wide audience. It also has some great resources, like a 100+ point set of usability heuristics that Nielsen and his co-author discuss in detail.

Karen

 · Wednesday, June 24
Hi,

I started as a software developer who thought that usability was something for creative guys. Not something I had to worry about my self. Besides, what’s that abstract talk about usability? Just be practical and build great stuff!

Wrong!

Well that’s what I am learning from experience. A small hobby project of mine, a free weight reduction community, is growing so fast that I decided to make it my fulltime project to work on. Thus for now it’s a one-person project and I have all project roles my selves. My initially pretty simple website is now growing into a more complex web application. Technically it’s no problem at all, but more and more I started wondering: what’s the best way to realize this or that function. I want all people to directly understand it. And how can I organize my whole site, so people love using it?

Time for self-education!

So I started ordering books on UI design and planned to educate my self in good UI design. By pure coincidence ‘Don’t make me think’ was the first book I received. I read it this week and I really liked it. Before I did not really know where to begin and thanks to this compact book I now have much more focus on the matter (and many practical tips on how to realize it).

“Don’t make me think” is very well written, not wordy at all and a pleasure to read. I read it in a couple of days and like to recommend it to all people who like to build successful websites. I’m going to checkout you’re booklist as well!

Karen
from The Netherlands

Tim K

 · Friday, June 26
I'm an engineer. A civil engineer. That probably says enough right there...

I've been involved in engineering software for years. I've been making decisions about product design for many of those years.

My strength is strategic design - figuring out the goals of our users, and the big picture solutions to meet these goals.

My weakness is tactical design - turning those ideas into a cohesive product that just works for people.

The good news is I know I need help. I'm bad at interaction design, and want/ need to improve, and it will really help me evolve to the next level.

This list is great start.

Tim

Tara Schnaible

 · Monday, June 29
I am a usability analyst formed from a computer engineering degree and far too many years of watching/supporting computer users. I have seen the product of too much knowledge and geekery translating itself into a computer interface - and I've spent most of my career trying to help people learn to get around it. Now I help add-to or resolve the problem for a living.

My foray into usability is self-taught and driven by reading way too many posts/books/etc. At least that overpriced engineering degree taught me how to teach myself!

I am the sole usability analyst working for a non-profit and just survived budget cuts - which means we have zilch for funds this next year. Just in time for people to begin buying-into user-driven design and project focus, coincidentally. I would use these books to bring the glorious sunshiney-light of user-centric work into my co-worker's lives. (The sunshiney light which has driven lifestyle changes like: my noodle strainer to permanently live over the sink because it doesn't make sense that it gets put away in a cabinet....that's not where it's used! Hello, context.)
I don't have any of the books on your list, but I've put several of them on my library list in the past year - you'd save me the effort of biking over there. Thanks for offering up your books!

Steven

 · Friday, July 17
I recently took over technical management of a major portal web site for an arm or the US Military. Since I have really very little to do with what appears on the Home page of the portal, (an IPT team addresses this....IPT consists of Users military dudes etc. I can make recommendations but as a subcontractor my politics is way down on the totem pole.) Needless to say the home page is a politically charged environment.

There are a lot of links on this home page, so many that when I took over, I was overwhelmed by the number. I decided to do a little study and found links on all four columns. Out came the xl spread sheet and let the counting begin. In the four columns there are over, well over 300 links to web sites and sited within the portal. OK 300 links to support a branch of the military...ok...but about 20% of them were repeat links.

A portal page shouldn't have over 300 links on one page, even a non-usability expert like me realizes this. I have started study of usability, my customers and clients NEED help. They need help from a partner that doesn't have a dog in the fight ...that's me. I want them to have AT MOST 30 links, not 300+. I am not the usability expert but have started bny reading Nielsen's book, but it is dated.

I need these books and promise to read each one and use parts from each one to help make a difference to the 850,000 ++ Users of this portal. Thanks

Jonathan Hung

 · Tuesday, July 21
Hi Dr. Pete,

In the year since graduating from college I've been consuming UX literature with a voracious appetite. Winning your books & reading them would develop my hollistic understanding of the field and contribute to the success of my blossoming career in usability.

I majored in cognitive science, where, like usability, success is predicated upon a knowledge of multiple disciplines. I appreciate that your recommendations include some psychological literature, an arena not typically considered *usability*, but have many useful contributions towards usability indeed. Understanding human action, behavior, and thinking are important steps towards building a successful and usable application.

These are books I would love to read for career development, but at the moment, lack the money to buy personally. Even if I don't win them, I hope to read them at some point in the future.

Thanks for your time

Alessandro

 · Wednesday, July 22
Hi Dr. Pete,

Thanks for the opportunity! Here's my post:
http://www.thinkpragmatic.net/usabilita/why-i-love-usability/
I hope is at least readable since English is not my first language ;-)

Pek Pongpaet

 · Friday, July 24
Hi Dr Pete

Here's my post on why usability is important for your consideration.

Peter M

 · Sunday, July 26
Hello,
Thanks for running this contest which will in the end promote more sharing of usability knowledge.
I will be starting a new job as a user experience developer for a growing company.
I've always been very excited about usability and accessibility for websites.
Sometimes I wonder if usability is left on the back burner of website production and somehow it will magically be easy to use because the design is so cool visually.
I hope to become an expert in this field and plan to share what I learn.

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