Browse Books

Reviewer: Ghita Kouadri Mostéfaoui

Based on their experience in Web design, the authors of this book present best practices to shorten the development time of sites, reduce maintenance costs, and provide a pattern language to define an infinite variety of Web designs. The authors build their patterns according to the approach of customer-centered design, a new methodology not yet widely adopted by organizations; many designers wrongly think that customer-centered design takes too long and costs too much, since there is a need to talk to customers, get feedback, and so on. The authors demonstrate that this design concept can reduce the total development time and cost because it focuses on finding problems in the early stages of design when they are still easy to repair. Many Web sites provide tools for evaluating the users' experiences in using them. This is a sign that the new evolution in Web design is to include the users' needs and preferences, in order to deliver a positive experience. This is an example of "customer-centered design," the main topic of chapter 1. In customer-centered design, everything is designed from a customer's perspective, with the ultimate goal of creating a meaningful experience for them. (The authors use the term "customer" to refer to anyone who uses or depends on the site, such as administrators, partners, managers, and producers.) Chapter 2 discusses how customer-centered design is realized by a set of principles and guidelines known as patterns. A pattern is a common design solution to a recurring problem, and is independent of the technology used to implement this solution. Patterns reflect abstract qualities that make great Web sites. A simple example is "action buttons," which are buttons with shading added to them. They are considered useful by users because this visual illusion takes advantage of what people already know about physical buttons. This chapter ends with guidelines and conventions in order to read the set of patterns presented in the second part of the book. Chapter 3 discusses how building a successful Web site requires a deep understanding of the customers' tasks (what they want to do on the site), the technology available to them (the software they use, and speed of internet connections), and their social and organizational context (the environment they live and work in). However, Web site designers may not only rely on actual customers' experience, but may help people become experts in new aspects by providing Web site tutorials in order to gently introduce new practices when needed. In chapter 4, in order to identify expected customers and their tasks, the authors propose a technique known as iterative design, which aims to take an existing design and rework it until it fits the customers' needs. This process is an ongoing cycle composed of three steps: design, prototype, and evaluate. The main benefits of this technique are to help identify problems at an early stage, and to ensure that the features available on the Web site are easily accessible to its users. Chapter 5 presents a practical realization of the principles and patterns described in previous chapters, and essentially details the iterative design process introduced in chapter 4 by breaking it down into seven phases: discovery (understanding the target customers and their needs); exploration (proposing potential Web designs of which one or more will be retained for further development); refinement (polishing the design); production (developing a fully functional site prototype); implementation (developing the needed code and graphical material); launch (deploying the Web site); and maintenance (analyzing feedback in order to prepare for the next redesign). Patterns are a software engineering problem-solving discipline commonly used in object-oriented technology. In Part 2, the authors present a preliminary collection of design patterns that aim to realize the principles described earlier. The catalog is organized into groups according to a set of criteria: site types, adding trust to Web sites, designing effective page layouts, and so on. Each pattern is identified by a name, the group to whom the pattern belongs, a sample implementation of the solution, and how the solution might appear on a finished site. The authors succeeded in presenting a formal methodology to design good Web sites. This book differs from other Web design books in that it is not about programming or a specific Web technology, but rather presents and details principles in order to develop customer-centered sites. The authors distill best practices that make sites more attractive and easily navigable. This book is not only intended for professionals, but may help anyone that wants to design high-quality Web sites. Online Computing Reviews Service

Reviewer: Jeanine M. Meyer

A vast quantity of useful advice and information for designers of Web sites is presented in this book. The authors face the challenge of making their large set of suggestions compelling and useful for practitioners and students. The strategy they have chosen is to produce a highly structured and interconnected book: a hyperlinked document in print. The book has three parts. The first, “Foundations of Web Site Design,” contains five chapters, each ending with a “Take away ideas” section. Chapter 1 is called “Customer-Centered Web Design,” while chapter 5 is called “Processes for Developing Customer-Centered Sites.” The second part makes up the bulk of the text. It contains design patterns, organized into groups, and ranging from general-purpose to more specific. Each pattern includes background information, a problem statement, a solution, and a closing section called “Consider These Other Patterns.” The problem statements for each pattern actually contain the bulk of the authors’ suggestions, as well as screen shots from existing Web sites. The authors champion the use of hand-drawn sketches in place of computer-aided diagrams for the early stages of the design process, and include many samples. There are 12 pattern groups, labeled “A” through “L.” Pattern group A, “Site Genres,” includes A1, “Personal E-Commerce,” A5, “Nonprofits as Networks of Help,” and A11, “Enabling Intranets.” Pattern group K, “Making Navigation Easy,” includes K4, “Action Buttons,” and K13, “Meaningful Error Messages.” The third part of the text contains appendices, such as “Sample Consent Form” and “Online Research,” a glossary, “Resources,” “Credits,” “About the Authors,” and an index. The book has both a short and an annotated table of contents. Most sections include color-coded symbols in the page margins that refer the reader to related chapters and patterns. The pattern concept, and the overall organization of the text, does provide ample structure for the reader. What is not clear is whether the material is worthy of the structure, and whether readers will find it worthwhile to use the book in the manner intended. The authors make the point that visitors to Web sites do take the trouble to learn to use sites that provide worthwhile content. They obviously hope this is true for their book. A weakness of the book is that the authors appear to be too accepting of how the Web is today, and of how certain sites function today. The book may already be dated. Many of the suggestions appear to be common sense, but it would still be appropriate to provide evidence. For example, does personalization/customization of presentation really pay, and does it pay in all cases__?__ What are the actual, quantitative findings on people’s actions with respect to providing information__?__ It would also b e valuable, even in a practical book, to provide context, and at least some theoretical grounding. Besides the homage paid to Christopher Alexander and his colleagues as the originators of patterns, one or two brief references to Shneiderman, Nielsen, and Tufte, and a mention of Fitt’s law, the authors do not relate their work to existing academic work in areas such as graphics design, systems analysis and design, business marketing, cognition, and the use of patterns in program development and pedagogy. The “Resources” and “Credits” sections have systemic and specific faults. The standard formats for Web references mandate including the equivalent of a publication date, as well as a date viewed field, for good reason. No such information was provided in this text. The glossary had some problematic definitions; for example, PHP Hypertext Processor (PHP) is described as a technology that mixes Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and Perl-like code. However, a more substantial failing is that PHP and many other technical terms are mentioned only in the glossary, and are not discussed in the appropriate sections of the body of the book. This struck me as a case of padding, though it can be argued that the glossary is intended to serve a distinct function to readers. Online Computing Reviews Service