Don't Make Me Think

Don't Make Me Think is a short and very easy to read book by Steve Krug. Its subject is human computer interaction and web usability. The book has a very simple premise, exactly as its title says, that a good program or website should allow a user to accomplish his intended task as easily and directly as possible. He points out that people are good at satisficing, that is taking the first available solution to their problem, so design should take advantage of this. The author frequently cites Amazon.com as an example of a well-designed site that manages to allow high quality interaction even though it gets bigger and more complex every day. One example he uses is their intelligent use of file folder-like tabs.

The book in itself is supposed to be an example of concision and extremely well focused writing. The goal was to make a text that could be read by an executive on a one or two hour flight.

Edition

 * ISBN 0-321-34475-8 paperback