http://tc.eserver.org/authors/Jarrett,_Caroline A bibliography of works by Jarrett, Caroline in the field of technical communication. en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Jarrett,_Caroline http://tc.eserver.org/34508.html http://tc.eserver.org/34508.html Have you ever found it difficult to fill out a seemingly simple form? Jarrett explains how to create questions that are easy to understand and accessible by all, focusing on details, the difference between prompts and fully formed questions, questions that need more explanation, and other aspects. http://tc.eserver.org/33337.html http://tc.eserver.org/33337.html FAQs don’t have that great a reputation, but recently, I’ve been working on FAQs for a client. Their computer help desk was annoyed about answering the same things again and again. Why not divert potential callers to a FAQ instead? http://tc.eserver.org/30437.html http://tc.eserver.org/30437.html Discusses reasons that practitioners read research papers and the obstacles that they face when reading research papers. Jarrett provides several examples and suggestions for improving the accessibility of research papers for practitioners. Her suggestions include writing clear titles, ensuring that the abstract states the study population and limitations of the study, and ensuring that the conclusions are written clearly. She also discusses her criteria for determining whether or not a research paper is relevant to her work. http://tc.eserver.org/29702.html http://tc.eserver.org/29702.html What is current practice in usability testing? How has it changed? What is essential for a good test and what is optional? We compare typical usability testing practice in the past (10+ years ago) with what we find is typical today. Then we look forward to predict what may happen in the future. We predict trends towards testing as a purchasable commodity, more remote testing, as technology makes it easier to ‘observe’ users over the Internet and more ‘mass market’ testing as businesses like Amazon try out their design ideas by micro-launching variants of their web site to see which one plays best with their customers. http://tc.eserver.org/28784.html http://tc.eserver.org/28784.html Jarrett is one of the authors of User Interface Design and Evaluation, a beginning text for technical communicators moving into user interface design. Jarrett says this book is a perfect start for users looking to add usability basics to their toolbox. She also talks about forms, and how the best forms are ones you barely notice. http://tc.eserver.org/26956.html http://tc.eserver.org/26956.html 在‘三层模型’中，一个表单有三种属性：感知（布局）、对话（问题和回答）、和关系（任务的结构）。 http://tc.eserver.org/26537.html http://tc.eserver.org/26537.html You've spent several days setting up a usability test, recruiting the participants and running it. Then you've pored over the data. What next? If you are doing usability testing as part of user-centred design within a business setting, then there are many ways that you can communicate the results. This paper looks at reports and then considers presentation and observation as alternatives to reports. http://tc.eserver.org/26396.html http://tc.eserver.org/26396.html Why do people say 'I’m not good with forms' or 'I don’t like forms' when a form is only a piece of paper, or a screen, with some printing on it? There must be something special about forms that inspires these comments. http://tc.eserver.org/26119.html http://tc.eserver.org/26119.html Collection of principles that can also form a process for editing web content to make it usable. http://tc.eserver.org/24872.html http://tc.eserver.org/24872.html Everyone hates forms--users hate filling them out, and writers hate creating them. But forms offer writers a unique opportunity for rewarding work. Jarrett suggests ways to improve forms--and, possibly, users' lives. http://tc.eserver.org/23857.html http://tc.eserver.org/23857.html Here is a preview of the Usability and Information Design (UID) stem of the 2004 STC International Conference. You can also find the full stem in a spreadsheet that you can download (Excel format). http://tc.eserver.org/21030.html http://tc.eserver.org/21030.html Jarrett dispels several myths about usability testing that may dissuade technical communicators from applying valuable usability techniques. http://tc.eserver.org/19850.html http://tc.eserver.org/19850.html Why do people say 'I’m not good with forms' or 'I don’t like forms' when a form is only a piece of paper, or a screen, with some printing on it? There must be something special about forms that inspires these comments. The 'three-layer model” considers forms from three points of view: perceptual (layout), conversational (questions and answers) and relationship (the structure of the task). Analysing a form using the three layers helps to un-pick its problems, and to suggest ways of making it more usable. http://tc.eserver.org/19602.html http://tc.eserver.org/19602.html Looks at usable writing, and convincing the legal department to adopt the tenets of clear writing. http://tc.eserver.org/13195.html http://tc.eserver.org/13195.html To create usable products you must be user-centred throughout your development process: from setting goals to installation. Two case studies illustrate why this is important. User-centred design is about actively involving users and understanding their requirements. It is necessarily iterative and multi-disciplinary. User-centred design requires commitment from your organisation or your client and yourself. Choosing your activities to match the level of acceptance of usability in your audience will help to create that commitment. http://tc.eserver.org/11782.html http://tc.eserver.org/11782.html I am a usability consultant and I believe, and find in practice, that usability evaluation is the best way to find out whether a document works for its users. However, I have frequently been in a position where my clients have decided to 'do market research' because they believe that they have a problem document and they think 'we’ll ask our customers about it.' Usability evaluation is one type of market research but it is not the most frequently used technique. In this article, I introduce some of the more common techniques and what you might expect to learn about a document by using them. I’ll use the example of a car owner’s manual–the small book that comes with a car, and explains things like how to change the oil and what the switches mean. http://tc.eserver.org/11753.html http://tc.eserver.org/11753.html The email lists have been abuzz with discussions of the usability issues in the Florida ballot. A common question asked was why a ballot design with so many obvious ways of failing its users attracted no attention before the recent U.S. Presidential election.