Don't Make Me Think, Revisited (New Riders, 2014, third edition)

Steve Krug · c. 2000–2014

Steve Krug did not write this page.

Every claim below was made in this book, quoted word for word and numbered in the order the piece makes them, so you can read it there rather than take our word for it. The book prints chapter headings its extracted text does not preserve, so the claims below are in the book's order but not grouped. The sentence above each quote is our reading of the claim, not their wording. Each quote was checked against a stored copy of the page at build time; where the two differ, the quote is the fact.

Our reading
A user should be able to understand what a page is and how to use it without spending any effort thinking about it

Their wordsI should be able to “get it” —what it is and how to use it - without expending any effort thinking about it.

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Our reading
People don't read web pages; they scan them

Their wordsWe don't read pages. We scan them. One of the very few well-documented facts about Web use is that people tend to spend very little time reading most Web pages.

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Our reading
Web users don't weigh every option to choose the best one; they satisfice

Their wordsWe don't make optimal choices. We satisfice.

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Our reading
It matters that users understand a site, because muddling through tends to be inefficient and error-prone

Their wordsThe answer is that it matters a great deal because while muddling through may work sometimes, it tends to be inefficient and error-prone.

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Our reading
When a slight inconsistency makes something significantly clearer, choose clarity

Their wordsIf you can make something significantly clearer by making it slightly inconsistent, choose in favor of clarity.

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Our reading
The number of clicks matters less than whether each click is a mindless, unambiguous choice

Their wordsIt doesn't matter how many times I have to click, as long as each click is a mindless, unambiguous choice.

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Our reading
Web pages should cut half their words, then half of what is left

Their wordsGet rid of half the words on each page, then get rid of half of what's left.

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Our reading
No one reads instructions until repeated attempts at muddling through have failed

Their wordsThe main thing you need to know about instructions is that no one is going to read them — at least not until after repeated attempts at “muddling through” have failed.

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Our reading
Design-team debates about what users like rarely change anyone's mind

Their wordsAnd, like most religious debates, they rarely result in anyone involved changing his or her point of view.

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Our reading
There is no average web user

Their wordsThe only problem is, there is no Average User.

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Our reading
Even the worst usability test with the wrong user shows important things to improve

Their wordsTesting always works, and even the worst test with the wrong user will show you important things you can do to improve your site.

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Our reading
Testing one user early in a project is better than testing 50 near the end

Their wordsTesting one user early in the project is better than testing 50 near the end.

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Our reading
Every web development team should spend one morning a month doing usability testing

Their wordsI think every Web development team should spend one morning a month doing usability testing.

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Our reading
Affordances are the last thing an interface should hide

Their wordsAnd by definition, affordances are the last thing you should hide.

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Our reading
Users' goodwill is limited, and a site that exhausts it has a good chance of losing them

Their wordsThe reservoir is limited, and if you treat users badly enough and exhaust it there's a good chance that they'll leave.

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Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution Peter Kropotkin · c. 1890–1902 both about documentation, behavioural science
Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil Hannah Arendt · c. 1963–1964 both about documentation, behavioural science
A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction Christopher Alexander · c. 1977 both about design, behavioural science
The Essays or Counsels, Civil and Moral Francis Bacon · c. 1597–1625 1 claim worded alike

Found from what the books talk about: claims worded alike in the archive's hourly pass, and subjects both are filed under. It is not a judgement that they agree — related books often argue the opposite. All books

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The other pieces are the ones whose claims are worded most like this one's. That measures language, not agreement: they may argue the opposite.