Get Real! Planning Tasks and Activities for Your Usability Test  

Producing usable task-oriented information requires thorough knowledge and understanding of the tasks to be supported. Technical communicators can acquire this knowledge and understanding in a number of ways, each of which has its own strong points and drawbacks.

Grice, Roger A. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Usability>Planning

High-Cost Usability Sometimes Makes Sense

Computing the net present value (NPV) lets you estimate the most profitable level of usability investment. For big projects, expensive usability can pay off.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2007). Articles>Usability>Project Management>Planning

Looking Forward to A New Year in Usability

A common theme in most stories is that introducing usability into a company, or even just into your own technical communication work, is often a long-term effort. In my own experience, my first effort to introduce usability at my then employer took almost two years to move from a few isolated activities and providing occasional design advice to interface developers into a fully recognized user interface design role.

Bachmann, Karen L. Usability Interface (2004). Articles>Usability>Planning

A Question of Process

When we consider the right questions to ask in usability, we first think of the questions we should ask our users and stakeholders. This line of questioning is a necessary part of our jobs. However, I have seen few articles outside of the ROI of usability discussions where usability professionals ask questions about the usability of our own processes and approaches.

Bachmann, Karen L. Usability Interface (2005). Articles>Usability>Planning

Selling Usability: Scope and Schedule Estimates  

Describes how to create an effective plan and estimate for usability activities. 'A plan and an estimate,' McDaniel writes, 'will go a long way toward persuading management that user-centered design is a desirable approach to building a user interface.'

McDaniel, Scott M. Intercom (2003). Articles>Usability>Planning>Estimating

Starting and Sustaining Usability Activities in a Company  

This panel presents our experience in starting and sustaining usability activities in different size companies. Some of these activities include educating others about usability, performing task analysis, testing prototypes of new user interfaces, writing usability specifications, and conducting both formal and informal usability tests. We will answer common questions about starting a usability program.

Fisher, Judith R. and Chauncey E. Wilson. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Usability>Planning>Workplace

Usability is Everybody's Business  

Different types of usability tests can be performed at different phases in the product development cycle for different reasons. Writers can plan and implement a usability test and then incorporate recommendations into their documentation, thereby improving its usability. You can improve the usability of your documentation by performing one or more types of usability tests, no matter the size of the product or the time frame involved.

Corbin Nichols, Michelle, Judith R. Fisher, S. Dawn Achee, Julia C. Stovall, David J. Dixon and Jane Emans Jesser. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Documentation>Usability>Planning

Usability Requirements: Making User Satisfaction a Measure of Product Success  

Defining usability requirements at the beginning of the project increases the chances that the end product will meet the users' goals and create a satisfying user experience. Unfortunately, such requirements are often not considered with the same priority as functional or other technical requirements. This presentation defines usability requirements, proposes guidelines for creating measurable requirements, and elaborates the components of a well-constructed usability requirement.

Bachmann, Karen L. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Project Management>Planning>Usability

You Want to Do What? Convincing Your Management to Support Usability Studies  

It's a classic chicken-and-egg struggle. Many information developers wait for management go-ahead before conducting usability studies. Management, on the otherhand, is sometimes reluctant to support usability work.

Scanlon, Tara C. and Alicia Flanders. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Usability>Planning>Workplace