Advanced Issues in Usability: A Progression  

In this progression, respected usability specialists will moderate tables on subjects of interest to colleagues who have been working in the usability field for some time. These topics will focus on usability test design, data analysis and presentation, and marketing of data. Attendees should plan to contribute their own experiences. This progression addresses the frequently expressed request by Usability PIC members for more sessions on advanced topics in usability.

Wilson, Chauncey E. and Stephanie L. Rosenbaum. STC Proceedings (1996). Presentations>Usability

Advanced Issues in Usability: Balancing User Preference and Performance Data Collection  

The purpose of this paper is to provide a little background on my position for the progression on usability issues. I’ll present what measures I typically collect, and the differences between performance and preference data. Having this as a starting place may help us to have a useful progression discussion.

Rauch, Thyra L. STC Proceedings (1996). Presentations>Usability>Methods

AJAX Usability Metrics

A look at how to quantify or measure the benefits of a better user interface built with Ajax.

Charland, Andre. SlideShare (2006). Presentations>Web Design>Usability>Ajax

Application of Theory: Minimalism and User Centered Design  

In the discipline of software and information development, minimalist design is not just doing with less (less features, words, widgets). It is selectively choosing what to include or eliminate with the purpose of making it easier for the user to quickly learn about a product in a natural and painless way and to start using it to do real work. User centered design fits well with minimalist theory because it incorporates user feedback throughout the development cycle. It is the best way to find out what customers actually do with your product and learn first-hand how you can help them with their goals. My team applied both these theories to our task of designing and building a set of samples for a Web development product. This paper shares our struggles and successes.

Lou, Mary Mazzara. STC Proceedings (2001). Presentations>Usability>User Centered Design>Theory

Applying Research to Practice: Helping Users Find What They Need  

Have you wondered why some documents succeed when others don’t? Have you been curious about the research behind the guidelines that you use? Are you ready for some new challenges and new ways of thinking about organizing documents for your audiences? Come participate in this demonstration/workshop on applying research to practice. We’ll concentrate on issues about how to help users find what they need in documents, interfaces, and just in time training materials.

Redish, Janice C. 'Ginny'. STC Proceedings (1997). Presentations>Usability>Help

Assessing Web Page Usability  

Assessing Web site usability can be complex, because the medium can be both a document and a 'software product.' Documentation usability testing asks how headings, page elements, and index entries help users find the content they need, and whether that content is useful. Software usability testing asks how well the user inteface supports users’ job-task activity, indicates functionality, provides navigation signposts and program status, and prevents errors. A Web site must meet a combination of these goals—links should lead to the content that users seek, through pathways that users can easily follow without reaching a dead-end or getting lost.

Hinderer, Deborah and Laurie Kantner. STC Proceedings (1998). Presentations>Usability>Web Design

Behavioral Concepts: Effectiveness and User Response  

What are hazards and why do we need them? Best practices for key elements of hazards.

Guren, Leah. In Other Words (2006). Presentations>Usability>User Centered Design

Beyond the Universal User: How to Design for the Universe of Users  

There are problems with non-user-centered/system-centered design. We must know, understand, and work with actual users so that the people who use the product can do so quickly and easily to accomplish their own tasks.

Bowie, Jennifer L. Texas Tech University (2003). Presentations>Web Design>Usability>Personas

Building Documentation into the Interface

As documentation is more and more built directly into the interface, and as technical communicators move into interface design and usability, it is important to have a theoretical framework within which to make decisions about what kind of information will be conveyed at any moment. We can build on basic principles of cognitive psychology to help us make these decisions. We start from a question: Why should users be aware of the difference between interface and documentation when all they want is to get something done?

Quesenbery, Whitney. STC Orange County (1998). Presentations>Documentation>Usability

Can’t Someone Tell Me How to Measure Quality?  

Technical communication journals and conferences over the past decade have consistently covered the topic of quality, but much of this coverage has focused on defining quality in technical communication and describing models of quality for our field. Few have dared to declare a finite set of definitive metrics that could be used across our profession. This paper takes the bold (and yes, foolhardy) step of declaring a set of metrics that could be used universally to measure quality in technical documentation of commercial products. The author is fully aware that this will stir up controversy and dissent, but considers this her contribution to stimulating discussion of the area of specific quality metrics.

Fisher, Lori H. STC Proceedings (1998). Presentations>Usability>Assessment

The Case for User-Centered Design  

The need for user-centered design in this era of rapid technological change is reviewed, and key ingredients of a user-centered design process are described: (1) involvement of users, structured by rigorous user input and feedback methodologies, (2) multidisciplinary teamwork, from developing the initial concepts and approach to evaluating and refining the product after its introduction in the marketplace, and (3) focus on competitiveness, on state-of-theart user interfaces and technology. Data supporting the economic value of user-centered design processes is also reviewed.

Soderston, Candace and Thyra L. Rauch. STC Proceedings (1996). Presentations>User Centered Design>Usability

Cinderella’s Slipper—Does It Fit Americans and Europeans?  

This paper represents an international study of IBM customers in the U. S., England, and Germany to see what effect the layout of a technical document has on usability for an audience of Americans and Europeans. The results indicate that while Americans and Europeans want most of the same usability features, they do not agree on all features. Communicating effectively with readers from different countries requires that writers work closely with international readers who represent the readers of their document; interview people who represent their audience; work with a document designer before starting the first draft; and test the draft document on representative users.

Ryan, Suzanne V. STC Proceedings (1993). Presentations>Usability>Publishing

Cognitive Strain as a Factor in Effective Document Design    

People have a limited amount of cognitive resources. Coping with the increasing amount of information presented via a software interface strains a user’s cognitive resources. If a person has to use documentation, whether on-line or paper, additional cognitive resources are consumed, often overloading the user. Using several windows or multi-media elements can compound the problem. Unfortunately, as Wickens (1992) states, humans are unable to manage excessive cognitive strain and they respond by getting frustrated, committing errors, shedding tasks, or reverting to known methods.

Albers, Michael J. ACM SIGDOC (1997). Presentations>User Centered Design>Usability>Cognitive Psychology

Complexities Of Usability Testing  

Usability testing has proven itself in improving product usability, but actually planning, doing testing, and interpreting results are not always straightforward. Interpretation of the results of usability testing, changes to improves usability, and general inferences to be drawn from specific tests are extremely difficult to make with accuracy. After working through the practicalities and politics of usability testing itself you must then draw conclusions and support them People who have done a lot of testing will find these problems familiar.

Ridgway, Lenore S. STC Proceedings (1994). Presentations>Usability>Methods>Testing

Conducting Surveys Over the World Wide Web  

The World Wide Web presents a new medium for conducting user surveys. Using this new medium requires that survey designers pay attention not only to the time honored rules for survey construction and administration, but to new rules stemming from the new web-based technology. This paper will present suggestions and ideas for conducting web-based surveys that are based on actual survey experiences.

Gould, Emilie W., Mark Gurevich and Peter D. Pagerey. STC Proceedings (1998). Presentations>Usability>Methods

Conducting Usability Tests to Upgrade Your Web Sites  

Usability testing can be planned and executed at various levels of complexity to enhance your Web site throughout stages of development. Include usability testing in the front-end planning and set Web site usability goals. Test early prototypes and then test again to quantify improvements. Assemble a team to plan the testing even if it is just two people. If you follow a planning and testing checklist, you should be rewarded with valuable data to analyze and upgrade your Web site. The process and outcome can enhance your company¶s reputation or improve your credibility as an information designer or developer.

Lester, Susan M.J. STC Proceedings (1999). Presentations>Web Design>Usability

Creating a Unified Web Site Design for the School of Technology at Purdue University  

The problem with any poorly designed web site is inconsistency. As a web designer or developer, one must create a web site as a finite, predictable universe with a specific set of standards and design specifications. When visitors go to any given page on a site, they should be able to recognize that they’re in the same site. The main focus of this paper outlines how a unified web site design was created for the School of Technology at Purdue University. In developing unified web sites it is important to have visual hints throughout a given site such as consistent typefaces for specific needs, consistent color palettes, and consistent placement and layout.

Miller, Susan G. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Web Design>Usability

Creating Effective Presentation Slides

The key methods you can employ to create effective presentation slides.

Doumont, Jean-luc. IEEE PCS (2008). Design>Presentations>Usability>Podcasts

Data Collection and Analysis: A Look at Process-Oriented and Product-Oriented Field Studies  

This paper discusses methods for identifying, collecting, and analyzing field data for product design. We present three examples of field studies (one focused on the use of a specific product and two focused on more general user processes) to illustrate how the type of study can affect field methods. In the product-oriented study, observers built an understanding of the work environment by looking at how the users interacted with the product and how the product affected their work, identified patterns of activity, and offered explanations for these activities. In the processoriented studies, observers built an understanding of the work process and made recommendations about how to support it.

Schulz, Erin Leanne, Judith A. Ramey and Denise Carlevato. STC Proceedings (1996). Presentations>Usability>Methods

Delivering Customer Satisfaction: Our Experiences with Responding to Customer Feedback  

The success of an organization that publishes product information depends on customer satisfaction. IBM Product Announcement Support representatives share their experiences in achieving very high levels of customer satisfaction. * How we conducted our surveys and feedback sessions: – Actual approaches – Sample surveys and feedback * How we used this feedback to: – Change the content and format of our deliverable dramatically – Offer our customers additional ways to access product information As writers in IBM Product Announcement Support, our mission is to produce high-quality, effective offering information worldwide. Simply put, we publish IBM product announcements on the full range of IBM hardware, software, and services.

Howell Betz, Margaret. STC Proceedings (1996). Presentations>Usability>User Centered Design

The Ethics of Special Needs: It’s a Matter of Fairness  

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 cites 43 million Americans as having disabilities. Despite the progress the ADA represents in improving equality of opportunity for those with disabilities, much remains to be done—as evidenced by the fact that only 27.8% of working-age people with work disabilities have jobs, compared to 76.8% of those without disabilities. The statistics are even bleaker for minorities. The STC Special Needs Committee was formed in May 1999 to help members with special needs achieve their potential by making available to them information about products, services, and literature that can assist them in their career activities. Three of STC's six guiding ethical principles have high relevance to special needs: legality, professionalism, and—above all—fairness.

Voss, Daniel W. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Usability

From Inspiration to Action at A.G. Edwards

Discusses how his team of Certified Usability Analysts (CUAs) were instrumental towards making usability a routine practice at A.G. Edwards.

Nadel, Jerome and Pat Malecek. Human Factors International (2006). Presentations>Usability>Workplace

From Last Minute to Ground Floor Development  

A transition from being a last minute resource to participating in product design and contributing to overall quality is occurring for many technical communicators. This move is not always easy; there are often many hurdles. With increased awareness of resources such as usability experts, multi-disciplinary teams, and customers, technical communicators can smooth the way and gradually get in at the ground floor.

Adams, Linda, Christopher Morrow and Nicole Vanop. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Usability