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Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems
It's been known for years that usability testing can dramatically improve products. But with a typical price tag of $5,000 to $10,000 for a usability consultant to conduct each round of tests, it rarely happens.
In this how-to companion to Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, Steve Krug spells out an approach to usability testing that anyone can easily apply to their own web site, application, or other product. (As he said in Don't Make Me Think, "It's not rocket surgery".)
In this new book, Steve explains how to:
-Test any design, from a sketch on a napkin to a fully-functioning web site or application
-Keep your focus on finding the most important problems (because no one has the time or resources to fix them all)
-Fix the problems that you find, using his "The least you can do" approach
By pairing the process of testing and fixing products down to its essentials (A morning a month, that's all we ask ), Rocket Surgery makes it realistic for teams to test early and often, catching problems while it's still easy to fix them. Rocket Surgery Made Easy adds demonstration videos to the proven mix of clear writing, before-and-after examples, witty illustrations, and practical advice that made Don't Make Me Think so popular.
In this how-to companion to Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, Steve Krug spells out an approach to usability testing that anyone can easily apply to their own web site, application, or other product. (As he said in Don't Make Me Think, "It's not rocket surgery".)
In this new book, Steve explains how to:
-Test any design, from a sketch on a napkin to a fully-functioning web site or application
-Keep your focus on finding the most important problems (because no one has the time or resources to fix them all)
-Fix the problems that you find, using his "The least you can do" approach
By pairing the process of testing and fixing products down to its essentials (A morning a month, that's all we ask ), Rocket Surgery makes it realistic for teams to test early and often, catching problems while it's still easy to fix them. Rocket Surgery Made Easy adds demonstration videos to the proven mix of clear writing, before-and-after examples, witty illustrations, and practical advice that made Don't Make Me Think so popular.
161 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2009
294 people are currently reading
7417 people want to read
About the author
Steve Krug
9 books453 followersSteve Krug (pronounced "kroog") is best known as the author of Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, now in its third edition with over 600,000 copies in print.
His second book is the usability testing handbook Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems.
The books were based on the 20+ years he spent as a usability consultant for a wide variety of clients like Apple, Bloomberg.com, Lexus.com, NPR, the International Monetary Fund, and many others.
His consulting firm, Advanced Common Sense ("just me and a few well-placed mirrors") is based in Chestnut Hill, MA.
Steve currently spends most of his time writing, teaching usability workshops, and watching old movies on tv.
His second book is the usability testing handbook Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems.
The books were based on the 20+ years he spent as a usability consultant for a wide variety of clients like Apple, Bloomberg.com, Lexus.com, NPR, the International Monetary Fund, and many others.
His consulting firm, Advanced Common Sense ("just me and a few well-placed mirrors") is based in Chestnut Hill, MA.
Steve currently spends most of his time writing, teaching usability workshops, and watching old movies on tv.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 211 reviews
May 19, 2016
..."I’ve always said that writing is the hardest work I know of and that I can’t understand why anyone would do it unless someone was holding a gun to their head (which, of course, is what deadlines are all about)." ...
:)))))))
:)))))))
October 13, 2021
The Book in 3 Sentences
1. The book is divided into two sections a) Finding usability problems b)Fixing usability problems
2. First section chapters have information related to why, how, and what we need to do for identifying usability problems and the second section chapters tells you how to identify main problems and how to perform small tweaks instead of big redesign.
3. Book helped me acquire knowledge on how to run user recruitment, conduct user testing in-person and remote, how to identify key issues in the application, and how to effectively fix it.
How the Book Changed Me
- Thought: UX is least considered for startup products because the core focus of management is to ship the working features first and then fix usability issues. So try to ship minor tweaks or improvements instead of a complete redesign.
My Top 3 Quotes
- Participants should leave the room in no worse shape than they entered.
- You can observe a lot by watching. — LAWRENCE "YOGI" BERRA
- The best is the enemy of the good.
PS. The book also has sample of "Test Script", and "Recording consent form" for conducting user interviews
1. The book is divided into two sections a) Finding usability problems b)Fixing usability problems
2. First section chapters have information related to why, how, and what we need to do for identifying usability problems and the second section chapters tells you how to identify main problems and how to perform small tweaks instead of big redesign.
3. Book helped me acquire knowledge on how to run user recruitment, conduct user testing in-person and remote, how to identify key issues in the application, and how to effectively fix it.
How the Book Changed Me
- Thought: UX is least considered for startup products because the core focus of management is to ship the working features first and then fix usability issues. So try to ship minor tweaks or improvements instead of a complete redesign.
My Top 3 Quotes
- Participants should leave the room in no worse shape than they entered.
- You can observe a lot by watching. — LAWRENCE "YOGI" BERRA
- The best is the enemy of the good.
PS. The book also has sample of "Test Script", and "Recording consent form" for conducting user interviews
April 22, 2012
Just like "Don't Make Me Think", this is a concise, easy to read, and valuable book that anyone in software development should read. Steve Krug has a way of explaining the Usability Testing concept that can be applied easily. It was an interesting read. I couldn't put it down until I finished it before I landed on a 6 hour flight.
May 30, 2013
Nicely written but I don't feel that I have learnt anything new. I would recommend it to the begginers, not people who already had a chance to run any usability test in the past.
February 8, 2017
So simple and direct - this book is great! I've done usability tests many times before, but I don't do them all that frequently. This book is like a simple cookbook that will remind me of all the important little things I need to do or consider when I do these test. It will be a handy reference for me! Plus, Steve Krug is funny, which is part of what makes his book is a pleasure to read.
January 8, 2019
Read "Don't make me Think" back when I was first starting and this book is just as good if you're interested in running quick usability tests. I found the chapter on the types of common problems participants have and the chapter on being a therapist to be the most useful in my work life.
A fast read, but were I to start running tests, I'd read it again.
A fast read, but were I to start running tests, I'd read it again.
December 4, 2021
4.5.
Very solid and easy read with practical tips for conducting usability tests.
Very solid and easy read with practical tips for conducting usability tests.
March 20, 2022
Чудова книга. Коротко й супер по суті.
October 7, 2022
In my new job designing SharePoint sites, a lot of my development is centered around making sure that what I create meet the needs of the end users. A lot of people in my firm are good at throwing content on to a SharePoint site, but unfortunately not much thought is given to making sure it serves a purpose.
After reading Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, I decided to read this book to do a deeper dive into the interviews in which a potential end user is given a task to complete on a website. Through observation and the end user narrating out loud, design teams can get great feedback on what is working well and what needs to be improved.
This book, along with lots of real life practice, has helped me become more confident and effective in the test interviews that we do. What my coworker and I do is based on the framework that Steve Krug provides in this book. However, we have made a few changes to our process to better suit our needs.
There are a lot of good ideas that we've leveraged from this book such as the line, "We are testing our site, not you, so there is nothing wrong that you can do." I don't use the scripts provided word for word, but I have developed my own spiel based off the main ideas. After teaching and doing corporate training for 12 years, I am more comfortable using notes. Another item that I developed is based off of Mr. Klug idea of the interviewee constantly narrating. "Please narrate what you are doing, thinking, or feeling. If you are staring at the screen, we don't know if you are confused or absorbing a lot of good information." Once I started using this line, I noticed that the people we were interviewing did a better job of talking out loud about what they are doing on a site.
This book covers the entire process of a site usability test. I appreciate what I learned but quite a bit didn't apply to my coworker and me since we are a two person team working on internal SharePoint sites for our firm. We don't need to reach out to the public to find people to test our sites. There are plenty of candidates in the home office that can help.
I found this book very helpful in my work and my self development. It is great that the book is written for an everyday person in the world of business and not for an academic. The language is straight forward with lots of practical examples and advice. If you are working on anything that is going to be used by a customer or an end user, this along with Don't Make Me Think are two great resources to help you make an even better product.
After reading Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, I decided to read this book to do a deeper dive into the interviews in which a potential end user is given a task to complete on a website. Through observation and the end user narrating out loud, design teams can get great feedback on what is working well and what needs to be improved.
This book, along with lots of real life practice, has helped me become more confident and effective in the test interviews that we do. What my coworker and I do is based on the framework that Steve Krug provides in this book. However, we have made a few changes to our process to better suit our needs.
There are a lot of good ideas that we've leveraged from this book such as the line, "We are testing our site, not you, so there is nothing wrong that you can do." I don't use the scripts provided word for word, but I have developed my own spiel based off the main ideas. After teaching and doing corporate training for 12 years, I am more comfortable using notes. Another item that I developed is based off of Mr. Klug idea of the interviewee constantly narrating. "Please narrate what you are doing, thinking, or feeling. If you are staring at the screen, we don't know if you are confused or absorbing a lot of good information." Once I started using this line, I noticed that the people we were interviewing did a better job of talking out loud about what they are doing on a site.
This book covers the entire process of a site usability test. I appreciate what I learned but quite a bit didn't apply to my coworker and me since we are a two person team working on internal SharePoint sites for our firm. We don't need to reach out to the public to find people to test our sites. There are plenty of candidates in the home office that can help.
I found this book very helpful in my work and my self development. It is great that the book is written for an everyday person in the world of business and not for an academic. The language is straight forward with lots of practical examples and advice. If you are working on anything that is going to be used by a customer or an end user, this along with Don't Make Me Think are two great resources to help you make an even better product.
October 17, 2023
An easy, handy pocket guide for usability testing, though not as informative or entertaining as Don't Make Me Think.
Notes to self:
Notes to self:
September 30, 2021
A decent guide on usability testing; super concise, yet somehow everything inside could have been stated in even fewer words. Part of the issue is that the book is a practical guide, in the sense that it literally recommends certain types of software/equipment for conducting usability tests; in 2021 probably 1/3 of the book could've been replaced with the sentence "Use Zoom (with recording on) for onsite and remote usability tests." Another part of the issue is that the book appeared to have an agenda, namely to persuade the reader that usability testing is a valid/useful/good thing, and teach the reader to persuade others of this; however, I personally found such content unnecessary. Since I'm already reading the book, I feel it's safe to assume that I'm sold on the value of UX testing!
Now with the negatives out of the way - I did learn some important intuitions from the book, which I applied to a web development project in my lab (mofsimplify.mit.edu) - namely:
- Recruit basically anyone to test the site - don't waste time finding "ideal users"
- Test early (even earlier than you think is appropriate; you can even have people test napkin sketches)
- Don't bias the test participant
- Have explicit tasks for the participants to do
- To address UX issues, make minimal tweaks or remove content; don't rely on a distant redesign
- Have a lot of people observe the testing live, this helps them get "eureka moments" where they see how unacquainted users interact with the site
- Make a short, concise, and actionable report afterwards; no need for a long report
- Treat your testers/attendees with food and/or monetary incentives :)
Some other pieces of advice that I haven't applied yet include (a) testing a competitor's site first to get nerves / hard feelings out of the way and (b) using a service like usertesting.com to do quick-and-dirty tests. (This book actually inspired me to sign up to be a usability tester on usertesting.com!)
Now with the negatives out of the way - I did learn some important intuitions from the book, which I applied to a web development project in my lab (mofsimplify.mit.edu) - namely:
- Recruit basically anyone to test the site - don't waste time finding "ideal users"
- Test early (even earlier than you think is appropriate; you can even have people test napkin sketches)
- Don't bias the test participant
- Have explicit tasks for the participants to do
- To address UX issues, make minimal tweaks or remove content; don't rely on a distant redesign
- Have a lot of people observe the testing live, this helps them get "eureka moments" where they see how unacquainted users interact with the site
- Make a short, concise, and actionable report afterwards; no need for a long report
- Treat your testers/attendees with food and/or monetary incentives :)
Some other pieces of advice that I haven't applied yet include (a) testing a competitor's site first to get nerves / hard feelings out of the way and (b) using a service like usertesting.com to do quick-and-dirty tests. (This book actually inspired me to sign up to be a usability tester on usertesting.com!)
May 14, 2022
Steve Krug's Don't make me think is obviously there on every design professional and student's must-read books list, just like design of everyday things is. But in my limited experience, no one I know has read "don't make me think". The proverbial motto among designers-this is a ludicrous generalization of course-being "don't make me read". The author is a huge fan of Amazon, and rightly so. Amazon has done a shit ton of usability testing. As an aside, I wish Amazon also did some usability testing on Goodreads because the site is practically unusable.The book is focused on simple, informal, small-sample, do-it-yourself usability testing (sometimes known as discount usability testing). The book is not about qualitative, quantitative, summative, formative, formal, informal, large sample, small sample, comparative tests, benchmarking tests, etc. For that you can contact your organization's UX researcher. The book's main thrust is to equip designers in small teams to conduct usability testing especially when resource constraints are significant.
August 28, 2019
The author takes a very practical and pragmatic approach to actually generate actionable results from a simplified version of usability testing that can be done on any website (even your own website).
Instead of involving a large number of people and consuming resources preparing for, and writing large reports thereafter of all feedback received, etc. -- the approach taken will easily generate the "top 3 issues to be solved" from usability testing done as described in the book.
Later in the book, the author goes the extra mile to also include checklists to assist anyone doing this with steps to help plan, prepare, steps to do on the testing day (how to do the actual testing), how to find unbiased testers, etc. and the checklists are all downloadable from the book's website.
Most websites have issues. This approach allows almost anyone to find the top 3 issues on any given website so they can be addressed for the most benefit of your website users.
Instead of involving a large number of people and consuming resources preparing for, and writing large reports thereafter of all feedback received, etc. -- the approach taken will easily generate the "top 3 issues to be solved" from usability testing done as described in the book.
Later in the book, the author goes the extra mile to also include checklists to assist anyone doing this with steps to help plan, prepare, steps to do on the testing day (how to do the actual testing), how to find unbiased testers, etc. and the checklists are all downloadable from the book's website.
Most websites have issues. This approach allows almost anyone to find the top 3 issues on any given website so they can be addressed for the most benefit of your website users.
September 26, 2020
Steve Krug's follow-up to Don't Make Me Think, the go-to recommendation for an introduction to making websites useful and usable, is a similarly bright, light-touch introduction to usability testing.
A lot has passed in the ten years since the book was published, but the fundamental principles hold true that regular testing can improve websites, intranets and other digital tools. Krug argues that this can be done in as little as a morning a month, and buries a lot of useful information in ways that simply make sense to anyone interested in learning how their services are used by real people.
What's more, like Don't Make Me Think, Rocket Surgery Made Easy is the kind of book that won't scare away bosses and can easily be handed on for them to read. With a reading time of a matter of hours and clear, simple techniques that don't require a dedicated lab, you could be making improvements to your digital products in a matter of weeks. The heavier books can wait a little longer.
A lot has passed in the ten years since the book was published, but the fundamental principles hold true that regular testing can improve websites, intranets and other digital tools. Krug argues that this can be done in as little as a morning a month, and buries a lot of useful information in ways that simply make sense to anyone interested in learning how their services are used by real people.
What's more, like Don't Make Me Think, Rocket Surgery Made Easy is the kind of book that won't scare away bosses and can easily be handed on for them to read. With a reading time of a matter of hours and clear, simple techniques that don't require a dedicated lab, you could be making improvements to your digital products in a matter of weeks. The heavier books can wait a little longer.
September 11, 2022
Rocket Surgery Made Easy is a concise, practical book full of tips and practices to help you quickly get started with usability testing at a low cost and develop a habit to do it regularly to catch issues early and often. Accompanied by graphics illustration and humor, this book will educate you on the usability testing topic and at the same time, be fun to read!
One thing to note is the book doesn't cover the entirety of what you can learn from usability testing. It's not a reference book. The book's goal is to help you get started with usability testing. In fact, the book lists out other books that you can read if you want to learn the topic deeper. How generous the author is!
I rate this book as 5 / 5. I strongly recommend this book to any role that wishes to improve the product experience with supportive data, live in an environment where only a few (if any) experience usability testing, and don't know how to start.
One thing to note is the book doesn't cover the entirety of what you can learn from usability testing. It's not a reference book. The book's goal is to help you get started with usability testing. In fact, the book lists out other books that you can read if you want to learn the topic deeper. How generous the author is!
I rate this book as 5 / 5. I strongly recommend this book to any role that wishes to improve the product experience with supportive data, live in an environment where only a few (if any) experience usability testing, and don't know how to start.
January 20, 2025
Great step by step guide for conducting a usability test but doesn't have the same shine of his first book which is an easy 5/5 stars.
I'm not sure exactly why it didn't knock my socks off like the first one. Writing style is casual and funny. Great practical advice. Fun illustrations. Just didn't have the "omg I want to read everything this man wrote" appeal.
Overall a great book that I think I didn't fall head over heels for because I'm not a usability tester. The first book felt much more broad and like it could apply to many more roles within marketing and anything that involves a website. Some of the info is also starting to feel dated. His own personal website he references has changed URLs, he references Google Optimize for A/B testing which has been deprecated. That took away a bit of the shine.
Overall a good book that's worth a read because it's so short but probably isn't the best book on the subject anymore these days.
I'm not sure exactly why it didn't knock my socks off like the first one. Writing style is casual and funny. Great practical advice. Fun illustrations. Just didn't have the "omg I want to read everything this man wrote" appeal.
Overall a great book that I think I didn't fall head over heels for because I'm not a usability tester. The first book felt much more broad and like it could apply to many more roles within marketing and anything that involves a website. Some of the info is also starting to feel dated. His own personal website he references has changed URLs, he references Google Optimize for A/B testing which has been deprecated. That took away a bit of the shine.
Overall a good book that's worth a read because it's so short but probably isn't the best book on the subject anymore these days.
March 8, 2024
I read Krug's Don't make me think a while ago, and decided it was now time to read this one as well, as a support to my usability testing education.
I have to say that, besides this book being short and precise, I laughed and lol'd at many pages. Krug has a great way of writing which makes you feel like you are actually in a live presentation. His stories and a way of presenting his experience is amazing in encouraging people to go out and perform usability testing - which is what I'd say is the main goal of the book.
The book also has a lot of great samples & examples (I love how this even rhymes; guess this is another influence of Krug's) to get you started, so I honestly don't know what you are waiting for - go out and test!
I have to say that, besides this book being short and precise, I laughed and lol'd at many pages. Krug has a great way of writing which makes you feel like you are actually in a live presentation. His stories and a way of presenting his experience is amazing in encouraging people to go out and perform usability testing - which is what I'd say is the main goal of the book.
The book also has a lot of great samples & examples (I love how this even rhymes; guess this is another influence of Krug's) to get you started, so I honestly don't know what you are waiting for - go out and test!
May 3, 2019
Very easy read. Some basic reminders:
- Do not give clues in the scenario (pg 53)
- Make eye contact
- Don’t mumble, don’t race through it, don’t speak in monotone
- Get the participants comfortable talking
- Listen to the participants and feel free to ask follow up questions
- Always keep an eye on the clock
- If you feel like you’re not likely to learn anything more, move on
- Try to get them to externalize their thought process
- Try not to influence them. Remain neutral
- Maintain a poker face. No frowning, smiling, laughing, nodding or grinning
- Clarifying for observer/paraphrase: do you mean this X over here?
- Do not give clues in the scenario (pg 53)
- Make eye contact
- Don’t mumble, don’t race through it, don’t speak in monotone
- Get the participants comfortable talking
- Listen to the participants and feel free to ask follow up questions
- Always keep an eye on the clock
- If you feel like you’re not likely to learn anything more, move on
- Try to get them to externalize their thought process
- Try not to influence them. Remain neutral
- Maintain a poker face. No frowning, smiling, laughing, nodding or grinning
- Clarifying for observer/paraphrase: do you mean this X over here?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 4, 2020
I’m a bit torn on this one. While I really enjoyed “don’t make me think”, this follow up seemed to follow the same pattern too closely.
I often found myself noticing he was repeating himself not only from his previous book, but also repeating points throughout the chapters of this one.
The script was helpful, the maxims were nice, but he should have known focusing on specific software while writing this would badly age certain parts of it.
Since this is just a visual process, I’m not sure why he didn’t reference a screen recording of the entire flow in his website, instead of the audio recording of the script.
I often found myself noticing he was repeating himself not only from his previous book, but also repeating points throughout the chapters of this one.
The script was helpful, the maxims were nice, but he should have known focusing on specific software while writing this would badly age certain parts of it.
Since this is just a visual process, I’m not sure why he didn’t reference a screen recording of the entire flow in his website, instead of the audio recording of the script.
May 28, 2020
I purchased this book for a class before finding out the textbook had changed since the last time the class was offered. Oops. Luckily Steve Krug's writing is easy to read and I figured it would be a good backgrounder before the course despite the fact it's no longer the designated textbook. Some of the references are a little outdated now (10 years might as well be a lifetime in terms of the Internet). Remote testing is also only very briefly mentioned at the very end. I can see why they moved away from this book as the textbook for my course -- in the age of COVID-19, we will be conducting our usability tests for class remotely.
October 29, 2020
This is a handbook for any kind of user research, if you do not do user research often this is your go-to checklist of what you can do and how to go about it. It is perfect, I read it multiple times and used it during research preparation phase and I cannot imagine not having it near me as it might be a year in between sessions and I am not even going to try remembering everything. It is actually now included in UX master studies on UX design here in Oslo and for a good reason - if you want to go about user research this is a great place to start and get all the necessary info without getting overwhelmed.
January 26, 2018
This book is purely about usability testing. Not about rocket science. I have no idea what the author was thinking when he decided to name this book “Rocket Surgery Made Easy...”...! Misleading title.
Albeit the weirdly named title, this book is quite helpful for product managers to conduct their usability testing. This book is highly practical and the author has listed down step by step procedure to conduct a usability test for your software. What to look out for and what not.
This book is quite short, you can probably speed through within few days.
Albeit the weirdly named title, this book is quite helpful for product managers to conduct their usability testing. This book is highly practical and the author has listed down step by step procedure to conduct a usability test for your software. What to look out for and what not.
This book is quite short, you can probably speed through within few days.
September 15, 2018
Kudos for the Companion Book to Don’t Make Me Think
Rocket Surgery Made Easy is an excellent resource for anyone who facilitates usability testing.
Steve Krug outlines all of the steps, from preparation to execution. He covers variations in the process, whether you are leading testing in the same room as the participant or by remote access. Steve also recommends online facilitation tools such as Go to Meeting and capture tools such as Camtasia.
Not only is this book a must-have; it’s a great read.
Rocket Surgery Made Easy is an excellent resource for anyone who facilitates usability testing.
Steve Krug outlines all of the steps, from preparation to execution. He covers variations in the process, whether you are leading testing in the same room as the participant or by remote access. Steve also recommends online facilitation tools such as Go to Meeting and capture tools such as Camtasia.
Not only is this book a must-have; it’s a great read.
November 26, 2020
Reading this book felt like attending an intense two day workshop of usability testing.
Real life examples, step by step plan of how to plan testings, how to conduct them, how to talk to people and what conclusions to make. I am a beginner in this field and did find so much new and useful information in this book!
The only problem I found with this book is that it can get outdated quite fast and it would be nice to see updated materials in the Chapter 15 Overachiever reading list and in Chapter 2 video example.
Great resource to hold on to and skim through again before conducting usability tests.
Real life examples, step by step plan of how to plan testings, how to conduct them, how to talk to people and what conclusions to make. I am a beginner in this field and did find so much new and useful information in this book!
The only problem I found with this book is that it can get outdated quite fast and it would be nice to see updated materials in the Chapter 15 Overachiever reading list and in Chapter 2 video example.
Great resource to hold on to and skim through again before conducting usability tests.
June 10, 2021
This is an easy book to digest - only 150+ pages and I was able to finish it in a few hours (plus fonts are bigger and have cartoon illustrations, making it more like a longer blog rather than a book). I only realized when I started to read it, that this book was written in 2010. Nevertheless, the classic User Testing method didn't change that much and I still agree on the method of doing frequent user testing (Steve suggested 3 people every month in a routine with observers in a diff room etc.) and got a lot out of this book.
August 4, 2023
Who is this for:
- Those starting out with usability testing
- Those in need of a quick reminder, great checklists, and sample scripts
Key takeaways:
- test no less frequent than once a month
- Test earlier than you think
- Recruit more loosely than you think
- Invite as many as possible to watch test to help demonstrate value and share knowledge.
- Serious (frequent and/or large impact) problems should be fix first
- Ask yourself "what's the least we can do to fix the problem".
Impressions:
- Concise, well written, and fun to read.
- Provides exactly what it promises.
- Those starting out with usability testing
- Those in need of a quick reminder, great checklists, and sample scripts
Key takeaways:
- test no less frequent than once a month
- Test earlier than you think
- Recruit more loosely than you think
- Invite as many as possible to watch test to help demonstrate value and share knowledge.
- Serious (frequent and/or large impact) problems should be fix first
- Ask yourself "what's the least we can do to fix the problem".
Impressions:
- Concise, well written, and fun to read.
- Provides exactly what it promises.
January 5, 2019
This should be called Usability for supper dummies. A basic book that can be written in less than one A4 page. Unless testing and usability is something that you haven't heard before in your life and have almost no idea what it is - skip this book and don't waste your time. If you know a very, very bit of conducting any kinds of interviews and know a little of usability meaning - skip this book and get something that provides a more knowledge.
March 29, 2019
It is exactly what it says it is. Great starting point for anyone starting research. If you have no experience and probably are a engineer or designer or product creator - this is a great starting book to getting your end user feedback. And fixing the website or app accordingly.
I just wish there is more about interpreting results and developing solution. Probably that is experience level. This is great for collecting problems to improve upon.
I just wish there is more about interpreting results and developing solution. Probably that is experience level. This is great for collecting problems to improve upon.
January 17, 2020
My edition was older, so many of the recommendations in it for specific software or book editions could be improved. As a book, it has some pretty good recommendations about the logistics of user testing, but it was lacking in terms depth generally, such as understanding existing user or tester biases. If you've never tested a user before, but want to set up something structured, this isn't a terrible place to start. But if you're looking to understand testing in depth, go elsewhere.
March 25, 2020
Somehow I missed this usability classic book (although I started my UX "career" more than 10 years ago with Steve Krug's other classic, the "don't make me think").
Even I did many usability tests in the last years but I could learn some new ideas and tips that are useful in the day-to-day UX work. So for both beginners and senior UX/product design practitioners are a great choice to learn about usability testing in a very understandable and practical way.
Even I did many usability tests in the last years but I could learn some new ideas and tips that are useful in the day-to-day UX work. So for both beginners and senior UX/product design practitioners are a great choice to learn about usability testing in a very understandable and practical way.
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