http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Articles/Usability/Workplace A listing of the most recently indexed works about Articles and Usability and Workplace 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/Articles/Usability/Workplace http://tc.eserver.org/30623.html http://tc.eserver.org/30623.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/29875.html http://tc.eserver.org/29875.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/28268.html http://tc.eserver.org/28268.html 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). http://tc.eserver.org/27317.html http://tc.eserver.org/27317.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/27166.html http://tc.eserver.org/27166.html As their usability approach matures, organizations typically progress through the same sequence of stages, from initial hostility to widespread reliance on user research. http://tc.eserver.org/26627.html http://tc.eserver.org/26627.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/25139.html http://tc.eserver.org/25139.html Documentation is a finger in the eroding dam of an unusable product. http://tc.eserver.org/24800.html http://tc.eserver.org/24800.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/20649.html http://tc.eserver.org/20649.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/19935.html http://tc.eserver.org/19935.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/10386.html http://tc.eserver.org/10386.html 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