#14516
Developing a methodology for creating user documentation involves the following phases: analyze need, plan, define requirements, design, construct, test, implement, and maintain. In addition to moving through these phases while creating the methodology, you must include each of these standard phases as a major section in the methodology. This paper describes how the Documentation and Training Center of Excellence used the standard project methodology phases to create and implement a methodology which tied closely to the phases.
Smittle, Linda S. and Robert C. Vestal. STC Proceedings (1994). Presentations>Documentation>Methods
#27897
Quantitative Studies: How Many Users to Test?
We can define usability in terms of quality metrics, such as learning time, efficiency of use, memorability, user errors, and subjective satisfaction. Sadly, few projects collect such metrics because doing so is expensive: it requires four times as many users as simple user testing. Many users are required because of the substantial individual differences in user performance. When you measure people, you'll always get some who are really fast and some who are really slow. Given this, you need to average these measures across a fairly large number of observations to smooth over the variability.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2006). Articles>Usability>Testing>Methods
#18621
Questionnaires are written lists of questions that you distribute to your users. Questionnaires differ from surveys in that they are written lists, not ad hoc interviews, and as such require more effort on the part of your users to fill out the questionaire and return it to you.
#31003
QuikScan: An Innovative Approach to Support Document Use in Meetings 
QuikScan is a set of summarizing and highlighting techniques that enable readers to quickly find information in documents. The foremost goal of the QuikScan Project is to improve the quality of business meetings by supporting attendees who must deliberate over documents they may not have carefully read. We envision QuikScan as a new career path for professional editors.
Zhou, Quan and David K. Farkas. STC Proceedings (2006). Articles>Collaboration>Methods>Usability
#26657
The creation of low-cost representations of the user interface to a system as a method of brainstorming, creating, testing and communicating ideas about the system being developed.
#31266
The idea of rapid prototyping as it applies to instructional design, is to develop learning experiences in a continual design-evaluation cycle that continues throughout the life of the project. This cycle, known as the spiral cycle or layered approach, is considered to be iterative, meaning that products are continually improved as they cycle continues.
InstructionalDesign.org. Articles>Usability>Instructional Design>Methods
#13237
Rapid, Low-Fidelity Prototyping
In this paper we discuss our experiences using low-fidelity prototyping as a design tool. We describe three efforts that made use of rapid, low-fidelity prototyping and share some of the lessons we learned in doing so. All three of the efforts involve the design of real software products though the prototyping involved different aspects of the software (brand new GUI or new function added to an existing GUI) or the online help information supporting the software.
Jorgensen, Linda B. and Peter D. Pagerey. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Software>Methods
#20069
Reading to Decide: Designing for Usability with a Needs, Users, and Learnings (NUL) Analysis
Information products that help users make decisions are a challenge to design, develop, and test for usability. We can begin to formulate a strategy for producing such documents effectively by doing a comprehensive preassessment of the specific project and by adapting testing methodologies from studies of creative thinking processes and expert system design.
Knodel, Elinor L. STC Proceedings (1995). Design>Usability>Methods>Testing
#10049
Recommended Texts for Research Methods Classes
A list of recommended texts for use in a research methods class, accompanied by brief reviews. The list was generated in a discussion on attw-l in February 2000.
Winsor, Dorothy A. Iowa State University. Resources>Bibliographies>Methods
#23989
Reconciling Market Segments and Personas
Market segmentation and personas are two different techniques that are often perceived as conflicting methods, but they are actually complementary tools that organizations can use to design and sell successful products.
Cooper Interaction Design (2002). Articles>Usability>Methods>Personas
#21366
Recording Screen Activity During Usability Testing
Recording what users do is a crucial aspect of usability testing. Fortunately, recording screen activity doesn’t necessarily cost much. Three Windows-based software programs range between $30 and $150 and offer excellent performance.
Fast, Karl. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Articles>Usability>Methods>Testing
#27147
Recruiting User Testing Participants
To meet your users’ needs, it is essential to know your audience and to design for them. A key way to do this is by identifying your Web site’s primary users and recruiting a sample for usability testing. Consider these four aspects.
Martin, Beth A. Usability.gov (2006). Articles>Usability>Testing>Methods
#23042
Remote Contextual Inquiry: A Technique to Improve Enterprise Software
Enterprise software usability is difficult to evaluate because the standard product shipped on a CD is almost always customized when it is implemented. How then can we learn about the design issues that actual users encounter with customized software?
English, Jeff and Lynn Rampoldi-Hnilo. Boxes and Arrows (2004). Articles>Usability>Methods>Contextual Inquiry
#19503
An interviewer can now conduct a remote usability test from a separate location than test participants.
Safire, Mark. Remote Usability (2003). Articles>Usability>Methods
#21461
Remote Online Usability Testing: Why, How, and When to Use It
Traditional, one-on-one usability testing is a great technique for uncovering usability issues on a website. Unfortunately, in-person usability testing isn't always feasible due to tight schedules, tight budgets, and elusive target users. So what's a usability crusader to do when in-person usability testing is impossible?
Gough, Dabney and Holly Phillips. Boxes and Arrows (2003). Articles>Usability>Methods>Online
#11836
Remote Usability Testing Tools
Participants ask questions live (via a phone connection, audio via Internet, or typed chat session). There are some usability testing products (such as ErgoLight) that enable you to test remotely when you cannot make an online connection, but they are not covered in this survey. These products are classified as Remote Control, Support Desk/Customer Service, Telecommuting, System Administration, and Video Chat tools. Many of the products have a Recorder and/or Playback facility, which is probably a natural extension of remote viewing.
Preston, Alice. Usability Interface (1999). Articles>Usability>Methods>Software
#18901
Researching Field Support Audiences with Virtual Teams
With the right mix of tenacity and curiosity, virtual teams can interview their own company's field support personnel and either justify the use of large hardcopy manuals, or suggest the development of alternative media formats. Too often, these manuals get revised and miss usability testing and audience analyses as they are updated for a new release. Over time, perhaps a decade or more, these books may no longer be the best delivery method for technical information.
Kittle, Kenneth M. STC Proceedings (2002). Articles>Usability>Methods
#26759
This article examines some advantages and disadvantages of conducting online survey research. It explores current features, issues, pricing, and limitations associated with products and services, such as online questionnaire features and services to facilitate the online survey process, such as those offered by web survey businesses. The review shows that current online survey products and services can vary considerably in terms of available features, consumer costs, and limitations. It is concluded that online survey researchers should conduct a careful assessment of their research goals, research timeline, and financial situation before choosing a specific product or service.
Wright, Kevin B. JCMC (2005). Articles>Research>Methods>Surveys
#27980
The Return on Investment (ROI) for Personas
For a variety of reasons, persona efforts tend to peter out rather than end in a managed, measured, and organized manner. Consultants are usually not paid to stick around long enough to manage the personas at the end of a project and in-house teams are usually more concerned with ramping up for the next project than they are with tidying up loose ends from the previous one. Being first-in/last-out on projects means that you will probably end up with responsibilities that straddle two projects. You will be completing your work on project A even after you have begun your work on project B. That is no simple task. It is certainly easier to simply move on to project B. However, we argue that an organized approach to measuring and managing the end of a project can yield significant benefits.
Light, Ann. uiGarden (2006). Articles>Usability>Methods>Personas
#30565
Rhetorical Analysis of a Quick Reference Aid
The need for timely and relevant computer documentation is a constant challenge. Sometimes there is a need to redesign such documentation to make it more useful. Rhetorical analysis is a useful aid for technical communicators in redesigning such documentation. Using Kenneth Burke’s notion of terministic screens, a quick reference aid for the users of a machine-aided translation system is examined from the perspective of graphic communication. Although rhetorical analysis cannot replace accepted principles of good design, it allows the technical communicator to examine design decisions from another perspective, giving one a very different set of questions to consider and some principles of explanation to justify design decisions.
Brooksbank, Patricia L. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Documentation>Methods>Rhetoric
#10383
Usability testing is an evaluation method used by technical communicators that can combine aspects of both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. This article compares and contrasts the standards and techniques between these two methods of inquiry with particular emphasis on maintaining rigorous tests in regard to validity and reliability of the findings. Whether an evaluator relies on quantitative methods, qualitative methods, or both, should depend on the questions the research or evaluation seeks to answer. Both methods have well-established practices meant to ensure the validity and reliability of their findings. Not only should usability evaluators be competent within the method of inquiry they apply, they also need to help clients understand the legitimate application and limitations of their findings.
Hughes, Michael A. Technical Communication Online (1999). Articles>Usability>Testing>Methods
#22310
There are two main types of user research: quantitative (statistics) and qualitative (insights). Quant has quaint advantages, but qualitative delivers the best results for the least money. Furthermore, quantitative studies are often too narrow to be useful and are sometimes directly misleading.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2004). Articles>Usability>Methods
#18678
The Role of Flow in Web Design
How can a design make your web pages feel natural for users? How do you achieve flow in site navigation and design structure?
Berkun, Scott. UIWeb (2001). Design>Web Design>Methods
#19193
The Role of Online Surveys in the Usability Assessment Process
I have attended several conferences at which I witnessed a growing debate over the role of survey work in the field of usability. Some practitioners are of the opinion that 'usability is usability' and 'surveys are surveys', and only rarely do the two meet in a harmonious exchange. The more I have considered this viewpoint, the more convinced I am that it is probably valid, unless the usability specialist takes the lead in assimilating survey output into the process of evaluating the overall effectiveness of Web sites and online applications.
MacElroy, William. Usability Interface (2003). Design>Usability>Methods>Surveys
#21777
Marco Zappa lavora come visual designer in una web agency. Quando ha iniziato, tre anni fa, la societa' era composta da una trentina di persone, mentre oggi le persone sono quasi settanta. I progetti a cui lavora sono cambiati, e anche i ruoli all'interno della sua azienda si sono modificati e specializzati. Ora le attivita' sui progetti sono divise in maniera piu' rigida e precisa. Per questo motivo, insieme al fatto che i progetti sono piu' complessi e ci sono piu figure professionali coinvolte, non e' raro che si lavori in dieci o quindici persone sullo stesso progetto. Fino a un anno prima tutti i materiali venivano lasciati su un server con accesso pubblico: ogni progetto aveva una sua cartella, strutturata al suo interno in piu' sottocartelle per i documenti di progetto, le proposte grafiche, i materiali forniti dai clienti e tutti gli elementi grafici e contenutistici prodotti. Il sito vero e proprio risiedeva invece su un server di preview, con accesso riservato ad alcuni membri del team.
Caprio, Laura and Beatrice Ghiglione. InformationArchitecture.it (2003). (Italian) Articles>User Centered Design>Methods
