UX: Back to the future

A list of classic texts in behavioural science, human factors, and similar for those looking to improve their knowledge of UX.

TL/DR: A colleague said to me, “when you retire, I want your library.” Based on that comment, I decided to compile a reading list for those in UX. As I obtained my Ph.D. in Human Factors Psychology nearly 20 years ago, these are classic texts. Each entry has a brief description of why I added it to the list.

1. Don’t Make Me Think by S. Krug
2. Psychology (Design) of Everyday Things by D. Norman
3. Set Phasers on Stun by S. Casey & The Atomic Chef by S. Casey
4. Thinking Fast & Slow by D. Kahneman
5. Quantifying the User Experience by J. Sauro
6. Questionnaire Construction Manual & Annex by Babbitt & Nystrom
7. Cheaper by the Dozen by F. Gilbreth & E. Gilbreth Carey (with bonus film “Desk Set”)
8. Introduction to Human Factors Engineering by C. Wickens et al.
9. Improving Function Allocation for Integrated Systems Design by D. Beevis, P. Essens, & H. Schuffel
10. Various Standards & Guidelines
11. The Icon Book By W. Horton
12. HCI Beyond the GUI by P. Kortum

1. Don’t Make Me Think by S. Krug

I’m starting this UX reading list with Steve Krug’s “Don’t make me think: A common sense approach to web usability.” There are new editions of this book, which I have not read. The original is written in a style that exalts the principles of UX through demonstration. It is also a quick read and written for the UX professional or for management. You will gain an appreciation for the very basics of UX in the digital age.

2. Psychology (Design) of Everyday Things by D. Norman

The second entry in this UX reading list is the classic Psychology of Everyday Things, by Don Norman. Later editions of this book had a change in title to The Design of Everyday Things. I prefer the original title for two reasons. First the acronym is much more elegant P.O.E.T.. Second, I am a psychologist by training.

Don Norman also has a Ph.D. in Psychology. He also was one of the early leaders in human-computer interaction as it related to the ubiquitous GUI. I think the title change occurred around the same time as the term “design thinking” came into vogue, but I could be wrong.

Either way, Norman uses case studies to illustrate how the design of everything impacts the thoughts and actions of users. Via these case studies he introduces the concepts of affordances, gibsonian/ecological psychology, mental models, and other topics within cognitive/perceptual psychology. These case studies elucidate the point that blaming the user is a wrong strategy. Also the interested reader can apply the lessons of these cases to completely different situations. Though POET is longer than the first entry (Don’t Make Me Think — Krug), it is another quick read. Therefore a great starting point for those interested in UX as a career or wondering why it is important to the development of technology.

3. Set Phasers on Stun by S. Casey & The Atomic Chef by S. Casey

The 3rd entry has 2 books, both by Steven Casey. Both books are collections of case studies in which the design of a system led people to make errors. Like the previous entries (“Don’t Make Me Think” & “The Psychology of Everyday Things”), these books are quick reads written for a general audience. Unlike the first two, there is no analysis. The case studies lay out the facts that the human errors were the result of the system design. If I was leading a class, I would assign students to read the case studies and think (1) is it right to blame the people in the stories and (2) what steps could have been taken to prevent these errors.

4. Thinking Fast & Slow by D. Kahneman

So far, this UX reading list has focused on books for a general audience. This entry is no different. However, you may not initially see its link to UX.

“Thinking Fast & Slow,” by Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman accurately summarizes what is known about human cognition. Though the book doesn’t mention UX or technology design, all of the concepts in this book have been discussed in the previous books. In “Psychology of Everyday Things,” Norman discusses Gibsonian psychology & affordances — this is the pattern recognition that defines Kahneman’s “thinking fast.” Norman’s 7 stages of action are Kahneman’s “thinking slow.” Casey’s “Set Phasers on Stun” & “The Atomic Chef” tell the stories of what happens when designs wrongly stimulate “thinking fast.” Krug’s “Don’t Make Me Think” tells how to take advantage of “thinking fast” to reduce people’s frustrations.

5. Quantifying the User Experience by J. Sauro

The four previous entries in the UX reading list have been focused on books for the general audience. This entry is written specifically for the UX researcher/practitioner. In “Quantifying the User Experience,” Jeff Sauro has created a practical guide to the topic. Most text books on the topic of research methods/ design of experiments and statistics are very theoretical and philosophical. These books have their place. “Quantifying the User Experience” describes the more practical concerns associated with these topics in very readable text. Though it is readable, it is not dumbed-down. If you are a UX practitioner who has never had a course work in psychological research methods or statistics for the social sciences, I encourage you to read this book. If you have had these courses, I encourage you to keep a copy on your desk as reference material. I find myself turning to it when I need to convince reluctant stakeholders of the best path forward.

6. Questionnaire Construction Manual & Annex by Babbitt & Nystrom

This entry goes in to more detail on quantitative UX research methods, specifically surveys. Many people believe that writing a survey is simple and it is what one chooses to do when they can think of no other way to measure/research/test a phenomenon. Neither of these are the case. A survey is a way to quantify people’s thoughts so they can be statistically analysed.

I have taught many people about survey design and administration best practices. Though there are numerous books on psychometrics that I use to develop these courses, Babbitt & Nystrom is by far the most thorough reference on the topic. If there is a question about survey design, they have done literature review and empirical research on that question.

The one limitation is that it was written in the late 1980s — so it does not address technology specific questions. Regardless, it is still my first reference when I have a question about survey design. Most notably, they did research to identify response labels for Likert-like questions that are equal intervals. This is important to ensure the data from the responses can be treated as parametric for inferential statistics.

6. Cheaper by the Dozen by F. Gilbreth & E. Gilbreth Carey (with bonus film “Desk Set”)

This entry is a bit of a diversion from the others because “Cheaper by the Dozen” is a semi-autobiographical novel written in 1950 that on its surface appears to have no connection to UX. That said it is on the list because there is a connection; I promise.

Frank Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey penned a loving tribute describing their lives as two of the dozen children raised by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth in the early 1900s. How does this relate to UX? Frank and Lillian Gilbreth are two of the pioneers of the integration of psychology and engineering. This integration is the heart of human factors, human computer interaction, and UX. Frank and Lillian used the principles of this nascent discipline to create a fun and efficient home life for their 11 children while being very busy working parents. Interspersed with anecdotes of children being children in the early 20th century, are a lot of great tidbits about how UX best practices came to be best practices. It is a quick and light read that I highly recommend for anyone in UX to know the founders of the discipline.

To further beat back the idea that UX is a 21st century creation, I also encourage you to set aside time to watch, “Desk Set,” which is a Spencer Tracy- Katherine Hepburn rom-com. Tracy plays a character based on someone whose work is similar to Frank Gilbraith. Hepburn plays a librarian, who fears she is being replaced by a machine. In addition to the great chemistry and acting from the pair, there are a lot of best practices of the UX discipline sprinkled throughout the story.

7. Introduction to Human Factors Engineering by C. Wickens et al.

This book is my go-to UX reference. There are 19 chapters covering the vast majority of questions related to human-system interaction from how to design research and system evaluation to design a variety of systems for usability. Furthermore, it goes into the WHY behind these best practices so that an individual knows when and how to bend the best practices. I refer to the 13 (visual) display principles frequently. The chapters on decision making, human computer interaction, workload, and safety provide a clear connection between the topics in Kahneman’s Thinking Fast and Slow (entry #4) and their application to UX. It is easily one of the most readable textbooks I have encountered. It reviews the scientific research literature accurately but clearly for non-scientists.

8. Improving Function Allocation for Integrated Systems Design by D. Beevis, P. Essens, & H. Schuffel

It is a truism, that as tasks become more automated the role of the human changes. When changing the way an outcome is achieved, we need to make sure that the changes improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and satisfaction of the human (i.e., ISO 9241–11 definition of usability). In my experience the best way to do this is the through task analysis and function allocation. These methods are very similar to the “jobs to be done theory.” The first step is to define the outcomes of performing a certain “job/task.” Task analysis and function allocation help to identify the sub-outcomes that are needed to occur to complete this “job.” Function allocation was first described by Paul Fitts in the early 1950s where the Fitts’ list described the things that humans are better at and the things that machines are better at. Though those as technology has advanced the components of each list have changed, considering what functions need to be completed and the best way of completing those is still critical to user experience.

To that end I have included “Improving Function Allocation for Integrated Systems Design by D. Beevis, P. Essens, & H. Schuffel” as the 9th entry on the UX reading list. It is a compilation of papers (written by both program managers and engineers) describing different approaches to and the benefits from function allocation. I encourage all UX professionals to become familiar with the concepts of task analysis and function allocation. This text is probably the best compilation of information on this topic.

For more information on Fitts’ List and it’s author Paul Fitts, listen to this episode of Design Critique, https://www.designcritique.net/podcasts/wordcast-paul-fitts-his-law-and-his-list/.

9. Standards & Guidelines

One of the best resources for UX professionals are the wide variety of standards that exist. These standards are based on research that has been conducted in a wide variety of contexts. It is always best to do desk (secondary) research by reviewing standards and best practices (even in other industries) before conducting primary research. Here is a list of some of my go to standards & guidelines resources:

· MIL-STD-1472G — Amongst the most comprehensive pieces of design guidance out there. It covers almost every conceivable user experience one can think of from standard GUIs to speech interfaces; from vibrations to lighting; from foot pedals to virtual reality; and excellent anthropomorphic data. The US military uses almost every conceivable piece of technology for almost every conceivable purpose (vehicles to medical; word processing & timecard software to nuclear reactors). Seriously this is ALWAYS the first place I look. http://everyspec.com/MIL-STD/MIL-STD-1400-1499/download.php?spec=MIL-STD-1472G.039997.pdf

· Usability.gov — high level software UX process and design guidance. One thing I love about this document is that it provides strength of evidence and importance for following.

· Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) — Though written for the web- they apply to most user interfaces. Also though they are labelled accessibility guidelines they are really inclusivity guidance that make your user interfaces better for everyone! http://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/

· Section 508 — The US law for IT & communication accessibility. If WCAG doesn’t cover it and it is IT & communications related, Section 508 does. https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-section-508-standards/section-508-standards

· NISTIR 7889 — National Institute of Standards (NIST) wrote a comprehensive list of standards for Department of Homeland Security. If you want to familiarize yourself with what UX standards exist, this is a great starting point. https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/HF-Standard-Practice-Draft-12Feb2018.pdf?CGk4Zs9GabjCnZ5RXQuSlr2toQ1aLPhJ

· Guidance on Application of Human Factors to Consumer Products — A joint effort between US & Canada’s Consumer Product agencies to define best practices for designing usable systems. https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/HF-Standard-Practice-Draft-12Feb2018.pdf?CGk4Zs9GabjCnZ5RXQuSlr2toQ1aLPhJ

· Summary of Many Relevant ISO Standards — The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society has summaries of numerous ISO standards that are pertinent to UX. https://www.hfes.org/resources/technical-standards

11. The Icon Book by W. Horton

A critical component of most user interfaces are icons. Badly designed icons can lead to poor user experience by creating features that are hidden (i.e., difficult to find) or confusion as to how to access features. Both of which can impact the usability and user experience of the technology. William Horton deftly walks the reader through when and when not to use icons and the icon design process. There are numerous examples that illustrate the principles being written about. Anyone involved in the process of system design could benefit from this book.

12. HCI Beyond the GUI by P. Kortum

The twelth item on the UX Reading List is Phil Kortum’s “HCI Beyond the GUI.” Each chapter of the book details an interface category (e.g., Haptic, Speech, etc..) and documents what best practices exist for design and testing of that interface. This book is intended for the UX practitioner or student. Like the fifth entry, Sauro’s “Quantifying the User Experience,” this book is a reference on my shelf that I turn to when I need to convince a stakeholder that it isn’t just my opinion, but research exists on the topic.