Badass: Making Users Awesome - Book review

This was originally posted at http://windowsapps.london/2015/06/10/badass-making-users-awesome-book-review/

---

I feel I should start by apologising to you. I was given a review copy of this book a few months ago but the fact it's taken me this long to tell you about it is something I should apologies for. You need to know about this book. And yes, I should apologies to the person who gave me the review copy too. ;)

This is a book about products and services but equally applies to apps. Given multiple similar apps, why are some more successful than others and what can we learn from the ones that are successful so that we can be successful too?

The structure and layout of the book is different to most but something you’ll recognize if you’ve read any of the Head First series.

The book aims to provide a “formula for improving our chance of making a sustainable, bestselling product or service” or app!

I think there’s something in it for everyone involved in app development and who want to create apps that uses will love and get value from. Obviously if you’re just building apps for yourself and/or to scratch a technical itch then carry on. Well, actually, upon reflection, there’s still something in this book for you too.

Here’s the thing. When it comes to a product/service/app in any category or niche, what distinguishes the successful from the not so successful is not luck. It’s about making the person using it a badass!

What does that mean?

It’s about creating better users, not better products.

The knock on from this is that people will talk about themselves more (people like doing that) and the reason for that will be your app. The most trusted form of advertising is recommendations from friends and family members. When others discover that the reason for then becoming badass is down to your app you’ll see the number of downloads of your app go up.

You may have heard the advice that you should “build services, not apps”. While that advice is generally good, it’s better to not “build a better service, [but] make a better user of the service”.

If you can create your app so that it creates a great Post-UX UX (the experience after using the app) then you’re on your way to a winner.

The book has a lot of information to help you create apps (and services) that will help create badass users. That is users who “reliably perform in a superior way”.

The advice covers everything you’ll need to know to help your users. Whether it’s practice, examples, struggle, progress, rewards, jargon, choices, memorization, willpower or affordances. There is a lot you’ll need to know and this book will help you through it.

There are also two other things you’ll learn about that are especially close to my heart.

“Cake features” and how you app can actually make people fat. Yes really. And how you can cause an emotional response in your users through appropriate prompts and a compelling context.

I urge you. Go get and read this book to learn more.

You owe it to the people who will use the apps you help create.

Get it from Amazon or O'Reilly.