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Shaping Web usability : interaction design in context
Badre A., Addison-Wesley Longman Publishing Co., Inc., Boston, MA, 2002. 276 pp. Type: Book (9780201729931)
Date Reviewed: Jan 29 2003

Badre has made a worthwhile contribution to the design community with this book. Instead of writing a text about the systems development life cycle from a human-computer interaction (HCI) perspective, of which there are already many, Badre instead presents what reads like a thematically unified series of essays. Each chapter coheres well with the whole, and presents different aspects of designing to users’ varied contexts. At the same time, each chapter can be read in isolation to get a concise picture of, for instance, the challenges of designing for an aging population or for small screens.

The theme that unifies this volume is that the many layers of a user’s context, from the cultural influences at play all the way down to the perception and cognition of individual Web pages, must be considered in order to produce a truly user-centered design. Badre argues that there is much value in focusing not just on users, but on their broader environment, from their desk or context of activity all the way to the societal norms at play. Early on in the book, he presents an onion-like diagram that includes the many layers of context, and then peels and examines this onion in successive chapters.

Each individual chapter is valuable not just by virtue of the content that is presented, but also in method of presentation. Perhaps as an answer to the dearth of “consultant-advertisement” books that flood the market, which seem to be built of opinion and little else, Badre backs up each of his arguments with pointers to the broader HCI and psychological literature. Even ignoring the useful arguments that Badre makes, this book has great value as a comprehensive literature review.

In addition, Badre treats topics that are not well covered in much of the HCI literature. His chapters on design for the elderly, design for small screens, and cultural contexts are particularly useful in this regard. While each chapter is only introductory, the many pointers to other research make this volume a very useful starting point.

As a caveat, although Badre does a commendable job of presenting high-level strategies for design, the chapters where he deals with low-level site and screen design may disappoint. While much useful research to guide low-level design is presented, his conclusions--while right on target--did not cohere well for me. The pointers to relevant research were (as always) useful, but the conclusions were not new.

In sum, Badre’s new book is a worthwhile addition to the HCI literature. His focus on and treatment of issues of the broader contexts of use is a valuable perspective. In addition, Badre does a commendable job of synthesizing his broad experience and that of other researchers into a short and readable volume. In contrast to much of the opinion-heavy literature being produced by our community, this is a well-argued and intelligent book.

Reviewer:  Gerard L. Torenvliet Review #: CR126895 (0304-0333)
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User-Centered Design (H.5.2 ... )
 
 
World Wide Web (WWW) (H.3.4 ... )
 
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