Changing the Process of Institutional Review Board Compliance    

In the past two years I have submitted proposals for the same study to eleven IRBs at colleges and universities across the country. While I strongly support the need for obtaining IRB approval, I believe as a discipline and as individuals we need to work to revise the IRB process. As it is now practiced at many institutions, the IRB process positions composition researchers and composition research in potentially problematic ways.

McKee, Heidi. CCC (2003). Articles>Usability>Workplace

Collecting Information: Qualitative Research Methods for Solving Workplace Problems    

There is evidence that technical communicators are not well prepared to collect information designed to answer workplace problems with systematic methods. Because mastering the use of qualitative collection methods such as observation, artifact searches, and interviews is often incorrectly assumed to require little expertise, my goal is to show how much thought has gone into the systematic use of such methods in the social sciences, including business. Thus, I focus on the basic considerations involved in collecting information using qualitative methods, especially (though not exclusively) targeted for technical communicators within industry. To that end, I cover two broad areas: (a) fundamental issues, such as formulating researchable questions and addressing credibility and practicality in workplace research, and (b) the details of collecting qualitative information and also determining the specifics of an information collection plan. The topic of analyzing information after it is collected is not covered

Campbell, Kim Sydow. Technical Communication Online (1999). Articles>Usability>Workplace

Corporate Usability Maturity: Stages 1-4

As their usability approach matures, organizations typically progress through the same sequence of stages, from initial hostility to widespread reliance on user research.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2006). Articles>Usability>Workplace

Corporate Usability Maturity: Stages 5-8

An organization that reaches the managed usability stage still has far to go to reach usability nirvana. Attaining these higher maturity levels requires many years of effort.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2006). Articles>Usability>Workplace

Enterprise Usability

Usability goes beyond the level of individual users interacting with screens. It's also a question of how easy or cumbersome it is for the entire organization to use a system.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2005). Articles>Usability>Workplace

Nip It in the NUB (Neo-Usability Bashing)

Lately in some quarters it's cool to bash usability. This is a bit different from the 'Never heard of it and don't need it' kind of opposition many of us have encountered in our careers. The Neo-Usability Bashing (NUB) argument goes something like this: Usability is so '90s, so software-application centered. In this brave new networked world, usability's outlived its worth. On the Web, people aren't 'users' as they were when they were using a spreadsheet or a word processing application, they're 'searchers,' 'game-players,' 'shoppers,' etc.

Donahue, George. Usability Professionals Association (2000). Articles>Usability>Workplace

Practitioners as Students: What We Can Learn About Teaching Usability  

This paper presents the results of a study that contributes to our understanding of how to conduct and manage usability in the workplace. The study’s participants provided the dual perspective of practitioners working in industry and who are simultaneously enrolled in graduate studies. Recommendations for industry and academia are offered. The results have implications for helping technical communication professionals prepare for their expanding role in user-centered design.

Levine, Barbara J. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Education>Usability>Workplace

Selling Usability to Your Supervisor  

What's the best way to convince your supervisor to consider usability testing? Think about where your boss falls among the personality types described by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).

Travis, David. Intercom (2006). Articles>Usability>Workplace

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

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

Institutionalising Usability: Ways to Embed Usability in Your Company or Organisation

Trying to embed usability in an organisation needs more than persuasive, logical arguments. You also need to appeal to managers' emotions and political ambitions. This article describes five successful strategies that we've seen work in companies large and small.

Travis, David. UserFocus (2005). Articles>Usability>Collaboration>Workplace