More Great Holiday Reads from Microsoft Research
Our first list just wasn’t enough, so here are a few additional books we’re reading this season!
Reading in wintertime is just the best. We love a good book for killing time in the airport, cozying up on the couch, and freeing our minds from the hustle and bustle for just a minute — don’t you?
We asked Microsoft researchers to select some books they love, and they didn’t disappoint! Check out the list below for lots of design and storytelling insight, and maybe a title to add to your wish list this holiday.
About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design, by Alan Cooper
Recommended by Amanda Snellinger
This book is written for designers: it’s a step-by-step course through the full human-centered design process. The author emphasizes that user research is an essential component of each step of the design process and creating great work, from generative to evaluative.
“It’s the most compelling argument for user research I’ve ever read,” says Amanda. “I’m an anthropologist, and this book fueled my transition into user research. I interpret culture and society as the lens through which others see and experience the world, and this book showed me how the research methods I was using could be used to design products that enable people to become what they aspire to be.”
Interviewing Users: How to Uncover Compelling Insights, by Steve Portigal
Recommended by Thom Gable
“Interviewing Users was recommended to me by a mentor three years ago, and I’ve read it multiple times since then. I gain something new from each reading. It’s a very approachable book that you can get through quickly, but it provides you with new techniques to apply to your own practice,” says Thom.
The author gets into the finest points of great interviews, like leaving comfortable silences in a conversation — and being genuinely comfortable about it. Thom especially encourages readers from a data-driven background to check it out, even if it isn’t the first book they may approach.
“Stories are where the richest insights lie, and your objective is to get to this point in every interview.”
—Steve Portigal
Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, by Nir Eyal
Recommended by Kent Lowry
How do we design to grab attention? How do successful companies create products people can’t put down? Is there a pattern underlying how technologies hook us?
In Hooked, author Nir Eyal presents a four-step process built to engage and encourage the customer — that’s right, an explicit strategy to keep them coming back for more.
Using “tricks” such as building variable rewards into an experience — like not knowing exactly what you’ll see each time your return — Eyal explains how to make an experience develop into a habit.
“This book provides useful guidance for overcoming the natural resistance that we humans have to change,” says Kent. “But even further, how to get people to embrace and stick with a new experience.”
The Man Who Lied to His Laptop, by Clifford Nass
Recommended by Penny Collisson
“So many of the insights in this book are relevant to the development of great products, and are also very relevant to fostering strong human relationships—at work and personally!” says Penny. “It reminds me that so many of our research questions can be addressed by going back to the vast knowledge already amassed in the social, behavioral, and cognitive sciences.”
Clifford Nass presents a journey through various research studies, all arranged around the core thesis that people react to technology much as they do to humans.
Exploring a wide range of insights into interaction and user experience, the book draws readers into a deeper understanding of how they relate — and can be better related — to the people around them.
Storytelling for User Experience: Crafting Stories for Better Design, by Whitney Quesenbery and Kevin Brooks
Recommended by Laura Pacheco Castaneda
The concept of great storytelling impacts all channels of modern design, communication, and user experience.
“Stories are such a powerful communication tool,” says Laura. “I’m amazed how they can help create a shared vision to engage others. Being intentional about the elements we include in our stories can magnify the impact we have in our interactions with users and stakeholders.”
“When an audience is inspired to think about a solution in new ways through a story they have heard, they can take ownership of the story. Once they own the story, they can sculpt and develop it in their minds. More importantly, because they own the story, they are much more likely to take that action if the story suggests it.”
—Whitney Quesenberry & Kevin Brooks
Did we mention any of your favorites here? Or did we miss an author you love? We want to know! You might also want to check out our first list — it’s loaded with good stuff, too, all straight from the team.
Share your favorite titles — or your thoughts on the list — here in the comments, or tweet me @MelissaDeCapua or my team @MicrosoftRI!
