Usable Usability – The Book

Usable Usability: Simple Steps for Making Stuff Better by Eric Reiss

Eric Reiss has a bunch of stories to tell – all interesting and offering something to learn from. He has been meddling with usability for so long that each and every one of the stories he tells have a spice of it.

“Usable Usability” has a story and stories. It is a guide through experience in a combination of shared reference, something that we (the readers) understand, but not necessarily made a mental note when we encountered the same situation. I regard Eric’s new book as a wake-up call.

Why a “ wake-up call”?… I had the honour to have Eric as my professor in the Usability & Design class in my Master in Digital Marketing studies. I was able to see how his experience, teachings and stories transformed the opinions of many. His observations sparked heated discussions among us (his students), and many were not taking prisoners… Almost 2 years later, I still see tweets and posts based on his teachings.

“Usable Usability” was not written for the officers battling the user experience or information architecture front. It was not written for the content strategists, either. It was written for the people who create things the humankind is using. It reflects the importance of creating moments of ease – sans obstacles, prêt-a-porter and fancy (but rather real) French idioms.

“Usable Usability” preaches the stripping of obstacles in front of task completion. It focuses on the basic pillars of ensuring that a user’s a positive experience:

Ease-of-use – functional, responsive, ergonomic, convenient, and foolproof.
Design – visible, understandable, logical, consistent, and predictable

Should you pick up the book and read it? Hell, yeah!!! And if you don’t design products or services, I am sure you will have a laugh here and there, and possibly learning something new from Eric’s experience.

You can purchase Usable Usability: Simple Steps for Making Stuff Better by Eric Reiss here!

P.S. Have you read it already? What is your take? Tell me in the comment section below.

Image source: www.amazon.com

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