,Introduction
My career as a designer of interactive products began on the Labor Day weekend of 1990. My
poor parents still aren’t sure what I do, and unfortunately, they’re not the only ones. Although my
tenure as an interactive designer has been accompanied by an explosion in the complexity and
quantity of interactive hardware and software products, the art, discipline, and craft of interactive
design in general and Web design in particular remain a work in progress.
For better and for worse, the Web’s openness, accessibility, and technical flexibility have enabled,
if not encouraged, individual solutions to what are often collective problems. A behavioral
convention or visual standard on one site might be completely different on another site. The result
is a level of inconsistency detrimental to both individual users and to the Web as an interactive
medium. Unfortunately, because the Web lacks a central authority to recommend, encourage, or
impose consistency, the description and adoption of relevant conventions are typically preceded
by years of evolution, inconsistency, and confusion.
Exacerbating the situation, the sheer newness of the Web and the speed at which it’s been adopted,
has failed to provide the time to develop the comprehensive methodologies, processes, or
disciplines necessary for the consistent, controlled creation of truly useful and usable sites.
Goals and Objectives
It is these two concerns—inconsistency in implementation and inconsistency in approach—that
led me to write Making the Web Work. The goal of this book is two-fold. On one level, it sets out
to describe, analyze, and recommend solutions to common Web-based interface problems. At a
higher level, it also sets out to provide a standard methodology for deconstructing and prioritizing
the issues involved in the design of interactive products in general and Web applications in
particular.
My hope is that Making the Web Work will serve as a catalog and critique of some of the visual
and interactive conventions in use on the modern Web. I also hope my analysis and critique will
add to your understanding and appreciation of the discipline of interactive design as well as your
own ability to practice that discipline. Finally, I hope the process and methodology of my analysis
will serve as a useful illustration of how to systematically deconstruct an entire application into a
collection of separate but interrelated problems.
Put another way, I hope that in these pages I have given you not only a few fish and a few good
fishing tips, but also a method for thinking about the practice of fishing and how to ensure that it’s
repeatable, sustainable, and well-managed.
Why I Wrote Making the Web Work
There are a lot of different reasons to write a book. Some authors have a particular perspective to
advocate; others have a story to tell; still others, an event to report. The more altruistic say they
want to give something back to their readers. I decided to write a book because I wanted to learn
,how to be a better designer. I wanted to develop a deeper understanding of what I had been doing
for the past decade, and the best way I knew to do that was to try to explain it to somebody else.
Surely you will disagree with things you read here, and even if you don’t, there will certainly be
plenty of others who will. That’s fine. Part of the fun and interest of working in the field of
interactive design is the uncertainty and complexity of it all.
As you’re reading, keep in mind that I don’t have the answer to the problem you’re trying to solve.
I don’t know the problem you’re trying to solve. What I do have, however, is experience with
similar problems and a way of thinking about them that you may find useful. Between these pages,
you won’t find any magic solutions, “Tips and Tricks,” or “Top 10 Dos and Don’ts.” Instead,
you’ll find an analysis and approach to the problems you’re likely to encounter during the process
of designing an interactive experience, be it an entire site or one small feature. I don’t expect
anything I say here to be the last word. In fact, I hope that in many cases it is but the first word,
and look forward to continuing the conversation. You can reach me at .
Who You Are
Like a design project, when you sit down to write a book, it’s important to consider who’s going
to be doing the reading. For Making the Web Work, I envisioned three types of readers:
Practicing designers. These are the people “on the ground” with the day-to-day
responsibility of solving design problems. If you’re an experienced part of this group, I
suspect you already perform the type of analysis presented here; however, my catalog of
problems and solutions may shortcut some of your own efforts. On the flip side, if you’re
a relative newcomer, my analysis and methodology may aid your understanding of the
unique challenges and methods associated with interactive design.
Product marketers. If you work in product marketing and don’t have the support of a
professional designer on your product, and so the responsibility for design decisions likely
falls to you. And even if you do have a dedicated designer, you probably still have
significant input on many design decisions because different solutions invariably have
unique cost/benefit profiles. If you fall into this camp, Making the Web Work will give
you an understanding of how to approach and prioritize the issues and decisions you’re
likely to encounter.
Software engineers. Even in organizations with robust design resources, chances are good
that the engineering staff outnumbers the design staff at least 10 to 1. If you’re an engineer,
you already know that any specification is unlikely to fully capture or anticipate every
permutation and corner case the code must ultimately address. As a result, it’s not
uncommon for you to have to make decisions affecting the design. For you, Making the
Web Work will provide a method for considering and prioritizing issues according to their
impact on both the code and users. In addition, it will give you examples of the analysis
designers typically use to solve problems and highlight some of the best practices currently
in use on the Web.
, What You Will Find
This book starts with the assumption that you have an interest in creating Web sites that are easy
to use. It presupposes the basic tenant of user-centered design: Products should serve the goals and
desires of the people consuming the product, not the goals and desires of the people or
organizations that created them. If you don’t enter this book with at least an open mind about the
value and role of design, we’re going to have a difficult time.
Making the Web Work is divided into five parts. Here is an overview of what you’ll encounter in
each part:
Part I, Foundations, sets the stage for the rest of the book by defining common terminology,
outlining the typical phases of the design process, and presenting a comprehensive model for
deconstructing and prioritizing an entire application.
Chapter 1, Common Ground: Defining Web Applications and Establishing the Goals of
Design
What is a Web application, and what are its natural advantages and disadvantages?
What is the purpose and ultimate goal of a user-centric design methodology?
Chapter 2, Putting the User First: Describing Target Users and Product Goals
What is the role of the design function?
What are some of the common process issues associated with designing Web applications?
Chapter 3, Deconstructing the Problem: Prioritizing and Categorizing Different Aspects of
the Interface
How can a complex user interface be deconstructed into discrete issues that can be
prioritized and solved individually?
Part II, Tier 1: Structure analyzes the key aspects of designing the overall structure of a Web
application.
Chapter 4, The Conceptual Model: Selecting a Fundamental Motif
How can you create a fundamental model that helps users grasp the application’s basic
purpose and nature?
Chapter 5 The Structural Model: Understanding the Building Blocks of a Web Interface
What are the most basic interface components of a Web application, and what are their
appropriate uses?
My career as a designer of interactive products began on the Labor Day weekend of 1990. My
poor parents still aren’t sure what I do, and unfortunately, they’re not the only ones. Although my
tenure as an interactive designer has been accompanied by an explosion in the complexity and
quantity of interactive hardware and software products, the art, discipline, and craft of interactive
design in general and Web design in particular remain a work in progress.
For better and for worse, the Web’s openness, accessibility, and technical flexibility have enabled,
if not encouraged, individual solutions to what are often collective problems. A behavioral
convention or visual standard on one site might be completely different on another site. The result
is a level of inconsistency detrimental to both individual users and to the Web as an interactive
medium. Unfortunately, because the Web lacks a central authority to recommend, encourage, or
impose consistency, the description and adoption of relevant conventions are typically preceded
by years of evolution, inconsistency, and confusion.
Exacerbating the situation, the sheer newness of the Web and the speed at which it’s been adopted,
has failed to provide the time to develop the comprehensive methodologies, processes, or
disciplines necessary for the consistent, controlled creation of truly useful and usable sites.
Goals and Objectives
It is these two concerns—inconsistency in implementation and inconsistency in approach—that
led me to write Making the Web Work. The goal of this book is two-fold. On one level, it sets out
to describe, analyze, and recommend solutions to common Web-based interface problems. At a
higher level, it also sets out to provide a standard methodology for deconstructing and prioritizing
the issues involved in the design of interactive products in general and Web applications in
particular.
My hope is that Making the Web Work will serve as a catalog and critique of some of the visual
and interactive conventions in use on the modern Web. I also hope my analysis and critique will
add to your understanding and appreciation of the discipline of interactive design as well as your
own ability to practice that discipline. Finally, I hope the process and methodology of my analysis
will serve as a useful illustration of how to systematically deconstruct an entire application into a
collection of separate but interrelated problems.
Put another way, I hope that in these pages I have given you not only a few fish and a few good
fishing tips, but also a method for thinking about the practice of fishing and how to ensure that it’s
repeatable, sustainable, and well-managed.
Why I Wrote Making the Web Work
There are a lot of different reasons to write a book. Some authors have a particular perspective to
advocate; others have a story to tell; still others, an event to report. The more altruistic say they
want to give something back to their readers. I decided to write a book because I wanted to learn
,how to be a better designer. I wanted to develop a deeper understanding of what I had been doing
for the past decade, and the best way I knew to do that was to try to explain it to somebody else.
Surely you will disagree with things you read here, and even if you don’t, there will certainly be
plenty of others who will. That’s fine. Part of the fun and interest of working in the field of
interactive design is the uncertainty and complexity of it all.
As you’re reading, keep in mind that I don’t have the answer to the problem you’re trying to solve.
I don’t know the problem you’re trying to solve. What I do have, however, is experience with
similar problems and a way of thinking about them that you may find useful. Between these pages,
you won’t find any magic solutions, “Tips and Tricks,” or “Top 10 Dos and Don’ts.” Instead,
you’ll find an analysis and approach to the problems you’re likely to encounter during the process
of designing an interactive experience, be it an entire site or one small feature. I don’t expect
anything I say here to be the last word. In fact, I hope that in many cases it is but the first word,
and look forward to continuing the conversation. You can reach me at .
Who You Are
Like a design project, when you sit down to write a book, it’s important to consider who’s going
to be doing the reading. For Making the Web Work, I envisioned three types of readers:
Practicing designers. These are the people “on the ground” with the day-to-day
responsibility of solving design problems. If you’re an experienced part of this group, I
suspect you already perform the type of analysis presented here; however, my catalog of
problems and solutions may shortcut some of your own efforts. On the flip side, if you’re
a relative newcomer, my analysis and methodology may aid your understanding of the
unique challenges and methods associated with interactive design.
Product marketers. If you work in product marketing and don’t have the support of a
professional designer on your product, and so the responsibility for design decisions likely
falls to you. And even if you do have a dedicated designer, you probably still have
significant input on many design decisions because different solutions invariably have
unique cost/benefit profiles. If you fall into this camp, Making the Web Work will give
you an understanding of how to approach and prioritize the issues and decisions you’re
likely to encounter.
Software engineers. Even in organizations with robust design resources, chances are good
that the engineering staff outnumbers the design staff at least 10 to 1. If you’re an engineer,
you already know that any specification is unlikely to fully capture or anticipate every
permutation and corner case the code must ultimately address. As a result, it’s not
uncommon for you to have to make decisions affecting the design. For you, Making the
Web Work will provide a method for considering and prioritizing issues according to their
impact on both the code and users. In addition, it will give you examples of the analysis
designers typically use to solve problems and highlight some of the best practices currently
in use on the Web.
, What You Will Find
This book starts with the assumption that you have an interest in creating Web sites that are easy
to use. It presupposes the basic tenant of user-centered design: Products should serve the goals and
desires of the people consuming the product, not the goals and desires of the people or
organizations that created them. If you don’t enter this book with at least an open mind about the
value and role of design, we’re going to have a difficult time.
Making the Web Work is divided into five parts. Here is an overview of what you’ll encounter in
each part:
Part I, Foundations, sets the stage for the rest of the book by defining common terminology,
outlining the typical phases of the design process, and presenting a comprehensive model for
deconstructing and prioritizing an entire application.
Chapter 1, Common Ground: Defining Web Applications and Establishing the Goals of
Design
What is a Web application, and what are its natural advantages and disadvantages?
What is the purpose and ultimate goal of a user-centric design methodology?
Chapter 2, Putting the User First: Describing Target Users and Product Goals
What is the role of the design function?
What are some of the common process issues associated with designing Web applications?
Chapter 3, Deconstructing the Problem: Prioritizing and Categorizing Different Aspects of
the Interface
How can a complex user interface be deconstructed into discrete issues that can be
prioritized and solved individually?
Part II, Tier 1: Structure analyzes the key aspects of designing the overall structure of a Web
application.
Chapter 4, The Conceptual Model: Selecting a Fundamental Motif
How can you create a fundamental model that helps users grasp the application’s basic
purpose and nature?
Chapter 5 The Structural Model: Understanding the Building Blocks of a Web Interface
What are the most basic interface components of a Web application, and what are their
appropriate uses?
