Don't Make Me Think
By Steve Krug
Introduction
To gather more information on how to guide users through the configuration and signing process, I used the book Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug. Don’t Make Me Think was originally published in 2000, but revisited in 2005 and 2013. The book is about human-computer and interaction web usability. Krug describes how software programs and web sites should let users achieve their goals as easily and directly as possible.
Things that make us think
The start of the book directly initiates how we (we, all users of the internet) have certain consideration between what is obvious to us, and what requires thoughts. Krug refutes his words with an example of a button: When is button well designed, it is obvious to click, and in what other case do I need to think rather if something is clickable.
Krug continues by saying that we can't make anything self-evident. When we create complex structures, users likely need to use their mind to get somewhere, but in that case, we should make everything at least self-explanatory. The reason, Krug says, is the fact that competition is always one click away, which means users tend to head somewhere else when it frustrates them.
Krug answers the question of why all this is so important with a metaphor. Making pages self-evident is like having good lighting in a store: it just makes everything seem better. (Krug, 2000, p. 19)
True Behaviours
We often fantasise that people who use the web read all our beloved written content, but nothing could be further from the truth. People actually just take a glance at each page, scan texts, and click at the first best link/option that catches our interest.
People never really 'read' a page but scan it. Krug mentions some reasons why: We're usually in a hurry, we know we don't need to read everything and we're good at it. What Krug is implementing is that we people, tend to concentrate on familiar words and phrases which matches our current interests or which come in handy in the current situation.
Satisfaction over optimisation
As mentioned, we tend to assume that people will scan for all available options and pick the best one. In reality, we are likely, Krug says, to choose the first reasonable option over the best option. Also known as the strategy of 'satisfying'. Shortly after we notice that a link might lead us to what we're looking for, we are likely to act.
Krug describes the satisfying strategy with an example in which firefighters were observed in their behaviour during fire scenes. The observations showed that firefighters who had to choose between two possible options, under circumstances with time pressure, unclear goals, and limited information, did not compare any options. The firefighters carried out the first action the came in mind.
Time is short, let’s muddle through
In all the years Krug analysed people using the web, one thing became very clear. People continuously using things without understanding the mechanism. Just a hand full of people actually take time to read manuals. People preferably go off without knowledge, muddling through, making up their own stories about what they are doing and why something works.
Fun fact, people actually get things done that way, Krug says, while he have seen people use web sites effectively in ways they were not meant to be. Krug also emphasises that muddling behaviour not only appears with beginners but also with native users.
Again, Krug asks himself why such behaviour occurs. The answer as he defines is simple. Generally, people don't care how things work as long as it works. Also, people stick to things that work for them, we seldom look for better opportunities if the current one fills our needs.
In the end, Krug argues, if people are so unlikely to do what we are trying to let them do, why would we even try? The answer is actually quite simple, says Krug, "If your audience is going to act like you're designing billboards, then design great billboards."
Creating the billboard:
To get to the point where a web site meets the requirements in which users understand as much as possible, Krug describes five things:
Create a clear visual hierarchyThe finest web sites that are easy to adopt make sure that the appearance of the things on the page clearly and accurately portray the relationship between elements on the page. Such as related elements and separated elements. Krug defines this in three traits: · The more important, the more prominent · Logically related elements should be visually related · Elements are nested visually to show what is part of what
Take advantage of conventions (common sense) At an early age, you learn to certain encode certain patterns. Without explanation, you are able to read a newspaper. Not the words but the conventions. Conventions provides you with a faster way to go through a newspaper. You know from early on that a large sentence summarize a title or headline, or that the text right below a picture is a caption about that picture.
Break pages up into clearly defined areas Simply said, people are biased when it comes to useful information. When dividing the page in clear sections, users can quickly decide which part to focus on, and which part can be set aside.
Make it obvious what's clickable Krug describes that the lack of hierarchy kept the application low. People simply didn’t know where they had to take action because the website was too colourful and overwhelming.
Minimize noise Lastly, to keep distraction low, Krug says, avoid background noise and busy-ness.
Why users like mindless choices
Throughout the years, web designers and usability professionals argued about the number of clicks people can expect to get what they want without discouragement. Even, there circulated some design rules, which stated that the maximal amount of clicks to get something done shouldn’t be more than four or five clicks.
Krug criticises this by saying that a number of clicks are useful criteria. According to Krug, it isn’t a matter of how many clicks, but rather how hard each is click is. The hardness is carried out by Krug in the amount of thought required and the amount of uncertainty of making the right choice.
Krug continues by saying: “In general, I think it’s safe to say that users don’t mind a lot of clicks as long as each click is painless and they have continued confidence that they’re on the right track - following what Jared Spools calls “the scent of information.” I think the rule of thumb might be something like “three mindless unambiguous clicks equal one click that requires thought.” (Krug, 2000, p.41)
Conclusion
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