Participatory design is an approach to design that attempts to actively involve end users in the design process to help ensure that the product designed meets their needs and is usable. This approach is focused on process and is not a design style. For some, this approach has a political dimension of user empowerment and democratisation. For others, it is seen as a way of abrogating design responsibility and innovation by designers.
#22821
Authenticate and Track Users with PHP
Learn how authentication, cookies, and sessions can add security and a personal touch to your site.
Meloni, Julie. Webmonkey (2000). Design>Web Design>Server Side Includes>PHP
#18763
Authoring and Viewing Hybrid CD-ROMs 
Hybrid CD technology, which allows publishing documents on CD-ROM and placing updates on a Web/FTP server, is the solution of choice for the delivery of time-critical, large technical documents requiring frequent updates.
Lanyi, Gabriel. STC Proceedings (1999). Design>Multimedia>CD ROM
#15091
Authoring and Viewing Hybrid CD-ROMs
Lanyi discusses technologies for authoring and viewing hybrid CD-ROMs. He defines hybrid CD-ROMs as standard CD-ROMs that integrate updates users periodically download from the Web. This combination of storage space and timeliness, Lanyi argues, makes hybrid CD-ROMs an effective means of delivering documentation to users.
Lanyi, Gabriel. Intercom (2000). Design>Multimedia>CD ROM
#28890
Automated Current Awareness Service Using RSS Web Feed 
Web feed is an automated web content syndication and surfing technique. It is a new eXtensible Markup Language (XML)-based mechanism that influences and enhances library functions and services. This paper briefly discusses web feed creation using RDF (Resource Description Framework) Site Summary (RSS) format, content syndication, and client software used to track and read the web feed contents. It also describes how libraries can use this technique to offer different Current Awareness Services (CAS)/Information Services libraries' to its subscribers.
P. Rajendiran and Indu Bhushan. International Journal for Technical Communication (2007). Articles>Information Design>Standards>RSS
#27932
You can't always count on having a professional designer around to resize and position your images for you, but you'd rather your page layout didn't look like it was created by orangutans. Harvey Kane builds a script that makes your life easier.
Kane, Harvey. List Apart, A (2006). Design>Web Design>Document Design>CSS
#14837
Automating Development Tasks for a Large-Scale Help System
Although tools like eHelp's® RoboHELP® Classic can speed up and streamline the process of creating help topics, there are still many repetitive tasks needed to build a WinHelp system that supports a large, integrated application. This article summarizes one of the techniques that Fredrickson Communications used to automate the process of developing online help topics. Once the underlying structure and macros were in place, we were able to generate hundreds of help topics at the rate 15-20 per minute.
Lindsay, Bill. Frederickson Communications (2002). Design>Documentation>Single Sourcing>Adobe RoboHelp
#21287
Automating Diagrams with Visio
By doing the demanding intellectual work first and then forcing the tools to succumb to need to produce seemingly speedy deliverables, you can get around the difficulty of choosing between 'Good, Fast and Cheap.' Here's one approach using Excel and Visio.
Angeles, Michael. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Design>Project Management>Information Design>Microsoft Excel
#28057
Automating repetitive tasks in Photoshop can increase productivity as well as save time and money. Almost any command (or set of commands) in Photoshop can be recorded into an action to be applied repetitively to a single file or across multiple file. The most basic action will execute one command such as resizing an image or displaying a dialog box. More complex actions can execute multiple commands automating more elaborate tasks. When used with the Batch command and/or Droplets, these actions can be applied to multiple files at once, enabling Photoshop to do repetitive tasks more quickly than even the best-trained Photoshop user! When repetitive tasks in a more involved workflow need to be carried out between applications, then AppleScript, Visual Basic, or JavaScript can be used to create scripts which work with Photoshop. In the case of conditional logic (a fancy way of saying 'Make a decision!') when an action needs to be applied to some files but not others, JavaScript files can be written to fulfill this need. One word of caution when first trying to conquer actions - run them on duplicate files, leaving your pre- cious originals unaltered. As you become more Action savvy, you can kick off those training wheels, and batch away!
Kost, Julieanne and Daniel Brown. Adobe Evangelists (2006). Design>Graphic Design>Software>Adobe Photoshop
#18632
Auxiliary Benefits of Accessible Web Design
This document is one of several resources created to assist the preparation of a business case for the implementation of Web accessibility. It describes the many business, technical and other benefits to the organization above and beyond the straightforward benefits to people with disabilities that can be realized by applying the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 1.0) to Web sites.
Arch, Andrew and Chuck Letourneau. W3C (2002). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#30873
Few usability professionals are as well-rounded as Avi Parush. Avi has worked in industry and academia, testing and design, the Old World and the New, with web applications and airplane cockpits, in operating rooms and on the bridges of ships.
Anderson, Clifford. Usability Professionals Association (2008). Articles>Interviews>Web Design>Usability
#28322
Avoid Edge Cases by Designing Up Front
Better planning and a beefed-up style guide may be exactly what you need to avoid markup derangement or, worse, a dysfunctional product.
Henick, Ben. List Apart, A (2006). Design>Web Design>Project Management>CSS
#30661
Avoid Unnecessary Ajax Traffic with Session State
Where possible, creating Web applications -- including Ajax-based applications -- in a RESTful way avoids a large class of bugs. However, a pitfall of REST (REpresentational State Transfer) is sending duplicate data across similar XMLHttpRequests. This tip shows how the moderate use of session cookies can maintain just enough server-side state to significantly reduce client-server traffic, while still allowing fallback to cookie-free operation.
Mertz, David. IBM (2007). Articles>Web Design>Programming>Ajax
#27939
On the Web, users have a clear mental model for a hypertext link: it should bring up a new page. Within-page links violate this model and thus cause confusion.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2006). Design>Web Design>Hypertext
#26363
Describes an alternative to automatic page refresh in HTML. Automatic page refresh can confuse users with cognitive disabilities when a page reloads without the user's request. This article provides you with instructions on how to apply explicit manual control of page refreshing.
Microsoft (2003). Design>Accessibility>Web Design
#25968
Describes an alternative to automatic page refresh in HTML. Automatic page refresh can confuse users with cognitive disabilities when a page reloads without the user's request. This article provides you with instructions on how to apply explicit manual control of page refreshing.
Microsoft (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>DHTML
#21012
Avoiding Bias from the Survivor Effect
Only a few of the survey sites we analyzed in 2000 are still around. We can safely assume that the surviving sites are not a random sample of the original group, but rather that significant differences exist between the sites that made it and those that died. Survival might be due partly to luck, but it is mainly a result of good management and an understanding of Internet fundamentals. Thus, the surviving sites are likely to be disproportionately clued-in about what it takes to run an online business.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2002). Articles>Usability>Methods>Web Design
#13371
Software innovations are the main way to differentiate both high-tech products and websites.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2002). Design>Usability
#18805
Avoiding the Content Silo Trap™, Enterprise Content Management
Organizations frequently fall into the content silo trap, multiple authors creating similar information, in many areas of the organization. Authors rarely share their information (they work in silos) or are even aware that this information already exists elsewhere in the organization. Technical communicators have been single sourcing for years, this session looks at how to move beyond technical publications to assist your organization with enterprise content management. This session includes a case study from Eli Lilly.
Rockley, Ann and Jodee Clore. STC Proceedings (2002). Design>Content Management>Content Strategy
#19841
Appropriately using typefaces is critical to your document’s success. The opposite is conversely true. A poorly selected or implemented typeface can equal a document disaster. When selecting a typeface, technical communicators must consider a typeface’s legibility (how distinct, clear, and recognizable its letters are), readability (how easy it is to read in a text line), and personality (what feeling it conveys). Once selected, typefaces must be carefully used to enhance the document’s message. Typefaces must enhance—not distract from—your document.
Yoshida, Kathleen Burke. STC Proceedings (2000). Design>Typography
#20660
AWARE: Accessible Web Authoring Resources and Education Center
AWARE stands for Accessible Web Authoring Resources and Education, and its mission is to serve as a central resource for web authors for learning about web accessibility.
#30868
The Awesome Power of Visualization 2: Death and Taxes 2007
Visuals that provide insights come from 1) a deep understanding of the goal / objectives 2) from thinking beyond what standard trend lines or stacked bar graphs can provide. Something non-normal to grab attention and yet communicate insights (sort of already contain recommendations and action items and not just data).
Kaushik, Avinash. Occam's Razor (2007). Articles>Graphic Design>Technical Illustration>Log Analysis
#30471
Charles L. Chen and T. V Raman have developed a common JavaScript framework to enhance the accessibility of AJAX-based applications. The framework is called AxsJAX, pronounced, 'Access JAX.'
Lemon, Gez. Juicy Studio (2007). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Ajax
#27694
User testing shows that business-to-business websites have substantially lower usability than mainstream consumer sites. If they want to convert more prospects into leads, B2B sites should follow more guidelines and make it easier for prospects to research their offerings.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2006). Design>Web Design>Usability>E Commerce
#22586
B2B: Help Your Fans Convince Their Bosses
B2B websites must support a more complex buying process than B2C sites. Three key goals are to make a buyer's shortlist, offer a downloadable advocacy kit, and build a reputation for great service.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2004). Design>Web Design>Usability>Community
#27031
Design and optimize products around basic features. The result--you will sell more products and improve the chances of people using secondary features (such as value added services).
Szuc, Daniel and Gerry Gaffney. Apogee (2004). Design>Web Design>Usability
