Gathering Input for the Best Possible Prototype  

Prototyping has long been a part of the sofiware development process, but is still an underutilized aspect of documentation design, particularly for online design. Developing a detailed approach to prototyping lets writers design and confirm document usability early in the development cycle. Implementing detailed prototyping in an iterative design cycle ultimately leads to the best possible document for the audience.

Mobley, Karen L. STC Proceedings (1997). Presentations>User Centered Design>Usability

Guided Web Tours: Developing Comfort from a Distance  

You’ve just created a new Web-based business application, or perhaps you’ve redesigned an existing one. You need to introduce users to the site and help them become familiar and comfortable with the new organization and navigational techniques. They need the information quickly and concisely. What do you do? You give ‘em a guided Web tour….

Currie, Cynthia C. and Michael T. Yarter. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Usability

HFI Certification: Fulfilling Your Needs as a Practitioner

Usability is more and more critical to online success, but most developers have no formal training in it and most companies have no formal program for it.

Schaffer, Eric M. and Phil Goddard. Human Factors International (2006). Presentations>Human Computer Interaction>Usability

How Can You 'Insure' Usability? – Achieving Routine User-Centered Design for Anthem's 12 Million Members Worldwide

Discusses how Anthem attained the training, standards, and resources they needed to create a sustained usability effort.

Weinschenk, Susan and Kyle Tolar. Human Factors International (2006). Presentations>Usability>User Centered Design

I'm Almost Out of Time, Money and Energy, But I Have to Do Usability Testing. Help!  

We know that testing for usability is an important part of developing and producing usable information. But very often, when push comes to shove, the time that we have allocated in our schedules for usability testing gets used for other, more pressing, activities, and the money we have set aside for testing seems to disappear.

Grice, Roger A. STC Proceedings (1994). Presentations>Usability

In-House Usability Training: Culture Change You Can Afford  

In an effort to establish affordable usability design and testing as part of the product development culture at Unisys Corporation, four Product Information employees in Mission Viejo, California and Salt Lake City, Utah developed a usability class. Working part time over a period of several months, the team developed a class outline; a PowerPoint presentation of the class content; exercises on surveys, paper prototyping, heuristic evaluations, and usability testing; Instructor and Student Guides, and a final examination. The class was added to the curriculum of the official corporate training entity, Unisys University, where it is available for all Unisys employees. This report of the group’s experience may be useful to organizations wanting to get started with usability training despite budget restraints.

Randolph, Elaine F. and Lynn Ballard. STC Proceedings (2001). Presentations>Education>Usability>Case Studies

Incorporating Navigation Research into a Design Method  

A presentation about whether an underlying spatial metaphor aids information design usability.

Lombardi, Victor. Information Architecture Summit (2004). Presentations>Information Design>Usability

Information Design Considerations for Improving Situation Awareness in Complex Problem-Solving    

The conventional techniques for task analysis derive the basic tasks that make up user actions. However, in the complex-problem solving environment, attempts to describe step-by-step actions break down because no single route to a solution exists. Although individual tasks can be defined, task-analysis normally results in the tasks being divorced from context. However, to support complex problem-solving, the design must place the information within the situation context and allow users to develop and maintain situation awareness.

Albers, Michael J. ACM SIGDOC (1999). Presentations>User Centered Design>Usability

The Institutionalization of Usability

Discusses practical usability, The Third Wave of the Information Age, the institutionalization of usability, developing a holistic strategy, measuring success, and getting started.

Schaffer, Eric M. Human Factors International (2006). Presentations>Usability>Workplace

Involving Users Throughout The Information Development Process  

Testing documents for usability is critical, but we don’t always get to do it. Even when we do, too often, it’s too little, too late. What we really want are documents that we are fine-tuning in usability testing because they already meet users’ needs, match our users’ mental models, and fit with the way that our users work.

Redish, Janice C. 'Ginny'. STC Proceedings (1994). Presentations>User Centered Design>Usability

Keeping Users Stuck to Your Site

Discusses the effect of drop-off and how usability initiatives reduced drop-off at Staples.com by 73%. This discussion begins with a definition of drop-off and moves into an explanation of the value of drop-off data. Then we delve into the correlation between drop-off and return on investment. Finally, we highlight two examples of Staples.com initiatives that were focused on reducing drop-off by using a systematic process of customer research and redesign.

Hynes, Colin. Human Factors International (2006). Presentations>Web Design>Usability

Learnability in Information Design    

Design of information used for technical communication of complex products should consider how learnable that information is, and strive to deliver materials that are inherently learnable.The speed of information interchange and the demands of the workplace and school curricula require increasingly minimalist approaches to the material that is made available. People are frustrated by long learning times, and new users of software tools demand rapid absorption of tool capabilities. In addition, many readers of technical information are people for whom English is not their native language.Methods and practices that worked in the period when people were willing to commit to hours of study to understand a topic, or days of practice to master a tool, no longer work in a world based on ?internet time.? To assist our understanding of these trends in learning, this paper addresses three key areas related to learnability: proposing a definition of learnability, showing where learnability and usability intersect, and providing a basis for learnability based on some attributes of human beings.

Haramundanis, Kathy. ACM SIGDOC (2001). Presentations>User Centered Design>Usability>Cognitive Psychology

Meeting the Demand for Usability Expertise: An Offshore Model

Discusses how you can create and utilize a 'Center of Excellence' dedicated to realizing your company's development and design projects. Learn how you can staff a sustained usability effort.

Schaffer, Eric M. Human Factors International (2006). Presentations>Usability

Metaphor Stacking and the Velveteen Rabbit Effect  

“Metaphor Stacking and the Velveteen Rabbit Effect” includes a description of metaphor stacking and the use of a metaphor stack in the design of an interface, as well as a description of the “Velveteen Rabbit effect.” It also includes an analysis of the benefits of applying these concepts to interface design and some basic guidelines for doing so.

Bream, Steve. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Usability>Online>Tropes

The Need for Usability Analysis  

An overview of methods for usability testing and analysis.

Xerox (1995). Presentations>Usability>Testing>Methods

Papers and Presentations from STC India Learning Sessions

View and download papers presented at STC India's learning sessions.

STC India. Presentations>Information Design>Communication>Usability

Quality and Usability in Indexes  

Indexes are essentially user interfaces for product documentation and trade books. Determining the quality and usability of indexes requires many of the same considerations as determining the quality and usability of user interfaces for software products. The time and resources spent on indexing represent the most cost-effective investments companies and publishers can make. Unfortunately, the truth is that very few companies and publishers devote a sufficient amount of time and resources to developing indexes.

Lathrop, Lori M., Peg Mauer and L. Pilar Wyman. STC Proceedings (1997). Presentations>Indexing>Usability

RBC Royal Bank’s Online Banking Initiatives: Usable Design Now and in the Future

Discuss their initiative to make user-centered design a central part of RBC Royal Bank's Online Banking.

Schaffer, Eric M., Carolyn Burke and Nicole Poirer. Human Factors International (2006). Presentations>Usability>Web Design>E Commerce

The ROI of Usability and Making Usability Routine

Makes the business case for usability, and examines the impact of making usability routine throughout an organization.

Weinschenk, Susan and Jay More. Human Factors International (2006). Presentations>Usability>Collaboration>Workplace

Selecting the Appropriate Learning Products for Your Users  

A learning product can take many forms, including wizard, coach, online Help, Web-based documentation, printed book, computer and paper-based tutorials, etc. The best way to determine the appropriate learning product(s) for your system is to conduct a needs analysis or survey of your users. A needs analysis is typically focused on a specific system or product, while a survey is more comprehensive, and can examine factors such as how your users learn. Each learning product has advantages and disadvantages, and is geared towards users with specific levels of expertise.

Florsheim, Stewart J. STC Proceedings (1999). Presentations>Education>Usability

Setting Usability Requirements For A Web Site Containing A Form  

We describe the challenges of understanding and setting usability requirements for a web site containing a form. We define 'usability requirements.' Ideally, usability requirements should be defined early in a project. In practice, we often find that the first opportunity we have is when we are asked to undertake an evaluation. Collecting the users' opinions of the requirements as part of the evaluation can often prompt the organization into investigating the users, leading to a better set of requirements and, eventually, a better web site.

Miller, Sarah and Caroline Jarrett. STC Proceedings (2001). Presentations>Accessibility>Web Design>Usability

Shaping Knowledge through Usability Testing Shaping Knowledge through Usability Testing  

Usability testing can make a difference in the product and and the documentation. Seeing is believing.

Barnum, Carol M. IEEE PCS (2003). Presentations>Usability>Methods>Testing

Review: There Must be Many I's in Today's Small UX teams: Jared Spool at NYC UPA

Jared Spool led the NYC UPA membership in an energetic discussion of user experience successes and failures. Comments ranged widely but centered on three main questions.

Herring, Richard D. Usability Professionals Association (2007). Articles>Reviews>Presentations>Usability

Tips for Using Eyetrackers in HCI Experiments

This is a summary of a talk on eyetracking for HCI students at Lancaster University in the UK. Feedback showed that students felt more able to conduct eye tracking research after attending the session.

Poole, Alex. Alex Poole (2005). Presentations>Human Computer Interaction>Usability>Eye Tracking