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

What You Can Learn From Analyzing Artifacts and Outcroppings in Field Studies  

Two often overlooked sources of data in field studies reside in the physical dimension of the workplace: artifacts and outcroppings. Artifacts are physical objects in use at a site: tools, forms, reports, templates, etc. Outcroppings are noticeable physical traits that mark or characterize the site: size of cubicles, whiteboards and what’s written on them, uniforms worn by certain classes of personnel, etc. These two sources of data can greatly enrich the overall understanding of the site. This paper describes artifacts and outcroppings found in the workplace, what you can learn from them, how to collect data about them, how to analyze the data, and how to report what you’ve learned. The points are illustrated with examples from three case studies.

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