Guidelines for Web Data Collection: Understanding and Interacting with Your Users    

The global growth of the World Wide Web challenges technical communicators to reconsider the methods we use to create designs that meet the goals and needs of our users. This article focuses on taking advantage of the Web's potential for interactivity between designers and users. It offers strategies for getting data from users of Web sites and using it for two main purposes: (1) analyzing audience and patterns of use to support continuous redesign, and (2) building a relationship or sense of community on a Web site.

Ramey, Judith A. Technical Communication Online (2000). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Log Analysis

Review: The Handbook of Digital Publishing  

The Handbook of Digital Publishing is a remarkable work for both its breadth of content and the quality of explanation. The handbook is, quite simply, overwhelming. From animation to ZIP files, surely these two volumes have it covered. I looked up things I knew and things I didn't. For both, I found in Kleper a lucid, detailed explanation, usually complete with topic history, technical specifications, and options for use.

Hudak-David, Ginny. Technical Communication Online (2002). Articles>Reviews>Publishing>Online

Review: Handbook of Technical Writing  

As with previous editions, the editors have done a marvelous job. This is the type of book that every writer should have. As I stated before, it is not a how-to-write book, but more of a 'tools for writing' book. I find myself referring to it often when I'm thinking of how to pronounce a specific word or how to go about putting together a proposal, abstract or white paper, or even how to interview an engineer or programmer for information about a product I'm documenting.

Hawley, Todd. Technical Communication Online (2004). Articles>Reviews>Writing>Technical Writing

Helping Low-vision and Other Users with Web Sites That Meet Their Needs: Is One Site for All Feasible?    

For this study, we recruited low-vision users with a variety of vision problems who need software to magnify computer text. Although we did not systematically recruit for specific vision problems, the fact that our users had different needs gave us one of the most critical insights in this study: The needs of low-vision users are too diverse for simple solutions to Web accessibility and usability. We show a few ways in which today’s Web sites are missing the needs of all low-vision users and provide guidelines for fixing those problems. However, the diversity of vision needs and the resulting adaptations that low-vision users require mean that there are no simple solutions to making Web sites work for everyone. In this article, therefore, you will not find many simple guidelines. Instead, we raise a critical issue and suggest a 'vision of the future' solution.

Theofanos, Mary Frances and Janice C. 'Ginny' Redish. Technical Communication Online (2005). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Universal Usability

Hiding Humanity: Verbal and Visual Ethics in Accident Reports    

The work of technical communicators transcends the purely technical—it has implications for real human beings. Located as they are at the critical intersection of technology and humanity, technical communicators direct traffic to avoid human injury and to promote sensitivity to the needs of human beings. When technology fails human beings, it is the ethical obligation of the technical communicator to sustain the humanity of the victims of that failure—to make those victims visible.

Dragga, Sam and Daniel W. Voss. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Writing>Ethics

Review: Hot Text: Web Writing That Works  

When it comes to mentors in technical communication, Jonathan Price is as good as they get. If he were a novelist, I might describe his stuff with words like salty, earthy, and gut-level. What he provides is different from cold theory, and certainly not the same as statistics. It's street-smart. When Price talks, you know he's been there and done that, and you've got him sitting beside you as you work, helping you through the pitfalls, urging you on.

Sullivan, Bill. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Reviews>Web Design>Writing

How Can It Cost That Much? A Three-Year Study of Proposal Production Costs    

New business proposals to the U.S. Department of Defense vary so much in their production requirements that it has never been easy to estimate the cost to prepare them. Worse, new proposal managers lack the experience to anticipate the work required to prepare a winning proposal. In many companies, marketing and technical communication organizations find it exceptionally difficult to estimate and acquire the realistic budgets needed to win. For the past three years, we have closely examined significant proposal efforts and discovered the six pillars of our department's proposal preparation costs. We have also derived a formula that characterizes proposal preparation costs in our environment. Our Cost Projection Factor estimate can be calculated in a minute and has demonstrated accuracy within 5 percent. Our purpose in preparing this article is not to reveal our proprietary proposal costs, but to demonstrate that a quick, accurate cost model can be developed for proposal publishing.

Wiese, William C. and C. Mal Bowden. Technical Communication Online (1997). Resources>Grants>Proposals

How the Process and Organization Can Help or Hinder Adding Value    

Do better information products result when technical communicators are well integrated into product development teams?

Pieratti, Denise D. Technical Communication Online (1995). Design>Documentation>Information Design>Usability

Review: HTML and Web Artistry 2: More Than Code  

Recommends to get this book from the library rather than purchase it. Its downfalls (typos, superficial treatment of some topics, and references to quickly outdated technology) will prevent it from becoming a timeless book in my professional collection.

Miller, Tasha. Technical Communication Online (2004). Articles>Reviews>Web Design

Human Information Processing Correlates of Reading Hypertext    

There are a number of systematic relationships between basic measures of cognitive processing and measures of reading performance. The correlational study reported here demonstrates that these same relationships can be observed in the reading of hypertext. In addition, correlations among spatial processing abilities and performance with hypertext support the idea that spatial and relational processing play important roles in reading and using hypertext.

Wegner, Michael J. and David G. Payne. Technical Communication Online (1996). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Hypertext>Cognitive Psychology

Hypermedia, Multimedia, and Reader Cognition: An Empirical Study    

In this article, we present the results of five tests done in a two-year project examining usability and instructional capabilities of modules developed in hypermedia and multimedia formats. Based on the results of these tests, we reinforce arguments that digitized media may be preferred by learners over traditional media and that learners tend to prefer a graphical user interface metaphor that is personally meaningful over the page metaphor typically used in computer based training. We also reinforce the argument that multimedia does no harm when used to replace more traditional approaches to instruction. On the other hand, we have determined that in some cases hypermedia and hypertext may be counterproductive as instructional media. In brief, we have determined that within the context of this study a majority of students have more difficulty learning in a hypermedia/hypertext environment than in an otherwise identical linear digital environment. In fact, in this study only the very best students were able

Hailey, David E. and Christine E. Hailey. Technical Communication Online (1998). Articles>Education>Multimedia

If We Build It, Will They Come? A Usability Test of Two Browser-based Embedded Help Systems    

The big problem with database-searching applications is that the user receives little feedback. Consider, for example, novice users starting to use Microsoft Word. The users want to right-justify a paragraph of text. Their efforts, either successful or unsuccessful, will be immediately apparent on the screen: The paragraph is either correctly justified or it isn't. However, a good-quality or a poor-quality search query used over a large database may retrieve 5,000 records, whether good or poor. How is the chemist to know whether the search query was effective and efficient? That is, how does the chemist know that the search query retrieved all and only the relevant records?

Grayling, Trevor. Technical Communication Online (2002). Articles>Usability>Programming

The Impact of Single Sourcing and Technology    

Design of information tends to be controlled by the functionality of the tools and technology. The last decade has seen a powerful move to online materials and a move away from paper. The next 5 years will see a move to new ways of structuring information for multiple media, multiple audiences, and multiple types information. The use of document databases, single sourcing, and knowledge webs will redefine 'writing.' As we move into the next millennium, information developers need to take control of the technology to support information design. This article addresses the changing face of technology, information design, and skills required to ensure effective information development in support of user needs.

Rockley, Ann. Technical Communication Online (2001). Design>Information Design>Single Sourcing

The Implications of Single Sourcing for Technical Communicators    

Surveys four books that examine methods of single sourcing, including publishing tools, XML, and content management systems. Reviews articles describing the roles of writers and editors, the tool set and its implementation, and ways to make dynamic content more effective

Williams, Joe D. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Content Management>Single Sourcing>XML

The Implications of Single Sourcing for Writers and Writing    

Argues that single sourcing puts pressures on the workforce and the very conception of 'writer' and 'document. Examines literature on change management for clues into managing the impacts of single sourcing on writers.

Carter, Locke. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Content Management>Single Sourcing>Rhetoric

Improving Translatability and Readability with Syntactic Cues    

More and more technical writing is being translated from English into dozens of languages for use worldwide by readers who have varying degrees of fluency in English. More and more technical documents are translated using computer-assisted or machine translation and are then post-edited by human translators whose first language usually is not English. As a result, more than ever before, technical writers need to be aware of syntactic ambiguity in order to ensure the most accurate, timely, and cost-effective translation. This manuscript explores an approach to writing unambiguously that is based on research from several disciplines. In addition to facilitating translation, the syntactic cues approach improves the readability of technical documents for both native and nonnative readers of English. The manuscript discusses considerations for integrating the syntactic cues approach into established documentation processes and also provides a procedure that helps technical writers learn to use syntactic cues effe

Kohl, John R. Technical Communication Online (1999). Articles>Language>Translation>Localization

Incorporating Usability Testing into the Documentation Process    

Describes how one company approaches usability testing of documentation and incorporates usability testing into its writing process through a Documentation Usability Team.

Postava-Davignon, Christi-Anne, Candice Kamachi, Cory Clarke, Gregory Kushmerek, Mary Beth Rettger, Pete Monchamp and Rich Ellis. Technical Communication Online (2004). Articles>Usability>Methods>Documentation

Index Versus Full-text Search: A Usability Study of User Preference and Performance    

This article reports on the results of testing two versions of an information product, Usability Testing and Research: one version, an Adobe Acrobat Reader e-book with an index with the locators hyperlinked to the page reference for each entry; the other version, the same e-book without an index, but with the full-text search capabilities provided by Acrobat Reader. We first summarize the current literature regarding human indexing and information retrieval by machine (search engines). We then describe the methodology for testing, the testing results, our conclusions, and implications for future research.

Barnum, Carol M., Earvin Henderson, Al Hood and Rodney Jordan. Technical Communication Online (2004). Design>Web Design>Usability>Search

Indexing Online Information    

Online indexing has great potential as a tool for information retrieval, although current online indexes are not always well used. Research and experience indicate that online indexing can be most effective if it is approached as a combination of traditional indexing and using computer search capabilities. Typical search facilities have great power but tend to rely on complex algorithms or else retrieve more information than users can effectively sort through. Traditional indexing techniques serve as a filter for concepts to limit searches to information that users will actually find valuable. To take full advantage of search facilities, online indexes can be designed with a flat (nonhierarchical) structure in which each index entry is clearly worded and makes use of keywords from the subject matter. Indexers can include additional keywords as synonyms that point to the relevant index entries. When indexers take advantage of these concepts and when index users clearly understand what to expect from online indexes, the the indexes become an extremely powerful retrieval medium.

Earle, Ralph, Robert R. Berry and Michelle Corbin Nichols. Technical Communication Online (1996). Articles>Indexing>Online

The Influence of Semantics and Syntax on What Readers Remember    

The objectives of the study presented here are to help writers and editors better allocate their efforts, increase the discipline’s knowledge about reader performance with technical documents, and examine many text variables in one study. For this study, participants read and recalled one of two technical texts. Results reveal that readers are more likely to recall more important versus less important information. Additionally, readers are more likely to recall information in clauses, in independent clauses, and in the first paragraphs of documents. The implication of these results for writers and editors is discussed.

Isakson, Carol S. and Jan H. Spyridakis. Technical Communication Online (1999). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Information Design

Information Architecture: Contributing Strategically to the Success of Our Customers and Our Businesses    

Because information architecture is taking center stage in many different information development contexts, technical communicators must fully understand the impact that information architecture has on their customers and their business. This special section, and the breadth of areas considered and discussed in the articles, demonstrate this impact.

Ames, Andrea L. and Michelle Corbin. Technical Communication Online (2007). Articles>Information Design

Information Design for the Small-Screen Interface: An Overview of Web Design Issues for Personal Digital Assistants    

If the experts are on the mark, very soon handheld computer technology—--also known as the personal digital assistants (PDA)—--will supplant the desktop computer as ubiquitous technology on campuses and in the workplace (Weiser 1998; Chen 1999). In 1998, Gaston Bastien, vice president and general manager for the Personal Interactive Electronics Division of Apple Computer, noted that the handheld computer market 'could potentially grow larger than today's computer industry,' partly because of the capability of dynamic, modular design, and partly because its utility spills over to diverse communities of users. In 2001, Gartner Research (Bloomberg News 2001) predicted a 260% increase in unit sales, from 9.39 million units in 2000, to 33.7 million units in 2004.

Albers, Michael J. and Loel Kim. Technical Communication Online (2002). Design>Information Design>Web Design>User Interface

Information Design: A Bibliography    

This bibliography consists of two parts, an annotated list of 17 essential works on information design chosen by members of the InfoDesign e-mail list, and a longer, unannotated, classified bibliography of additional works.

Albers, Michael J. and Beth Conney Lisberg. Technical Communication Online (2000). Resources>Bibliographies>Information Design

Information Design: A European Perspective    

This commentary briefly outlines the evolution of information design in Europe, notes the differences between approaches to information design in Europe and the U. S., and speculates on reasons for those differences. Ultimately, however, those who are information designers seek to improve the quality of communication, respecting and improving the lives of others.

Taylor, Conrad. Technical Communication Online (2000). Design>Information Design>Regional>Europe

Information Design: An Introduction to This Special Section    

This article defines information design as being closely related to Kolstenick and Roberts's construct of extra-textual and supra-textual levels, which discuss how the page looks and how text appears on the page, without worrying about the text itself. It includes the white space, the rules, the font choices, use of special typefaces, the placement and ordering of data, and so forth. The actual text sits below this level and is not a part of information design. The author also summarizes the content of this special section's two commentaries, three articles, and bibliography.

Albers, Michael J. Technical Communication Online (2000). Design>Information Design