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Arlene Kline, one of The Usability team at TUC discusses 'Skip Intro, Macromedia® FlashTM, Usability and Interface Design, Michelangelo, Capraro & Duncan McAlester.'
As a Usability Specialist I found the usability advice well balanced with practical tips that those of us on 'the front lines' have picked up through experience. This is a good basic guide to User Centered Design using Flash. It discusses the fundamental issues that need to be considered when designing usable systems: know what your users truly require from the system, design the system with these users' requirements in mind, then test with the system with target users to ensure that it is easy to learn, easy to use, easy to remember, effective, efficient, fit for purpose and consistent.
This book is geared towards Flash Programmers/ Designers and gently introduces the concept of usability; what it is, why it's necessary and how to begin coding Flash components that are 'user-friendly' and reusable. Consolidating them in an easily digestible conclusion reinforces the key points from each chapter and provides a firm foundation to build on.
'Skip Intro' discusses the usability benefits of employing certain flash components such as gesture-driven scrolling, dynamic cursors, tabbed windows and hierarchical menus. Using design techniques such as scenarios and personas, it then provides usability guidelines on when these components should be used and why. The actual code is also provided in a step-by-step manner, with guidance provided all along the way.
I would recommend this book as a good starting point for Flash Programmers/Designers who are keen to quickly start building a library of usable components. However, dropping these components into a flash site will not provide a panacea for a poorly conceived site. A sound information architecture and good, appropriate content and features are essential building blocks of a usable website, no matter what technology is used to implement it.
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