Accessible Web Design

We encourage developers of web pages to consider the full spectrum of visitors to their sites. Listed below are some resources that may be helpful in creating pages that are accessible to everyone, including those who have disabilities.

University of Washington-Seattle (2001). Design>Web Design>Accessibility

Advanced Interactive Multimedia

A website from an undergraduate course on designing complex interactive multmedia for technical communicators.

Sauer, Geoffrey. University of Washington-Seattle (2002). Academic>Courses>Undergraduate

The Alternative Guide to Technical Communication

This guide summarizes alternative resources relevant to people in Technical Communication. 'Alternative' refers to the unconventional types of resources on this list as well the diversity of topics that are covered -- none of these resources talk about 'technical communication.'

Wei, Carolyn. University of Washington-Seattle. Resources>TC>User Centered Design

EndNote 4.0 Cookbook

The EndNote cookbook is designed to help University of Washington students, staff and faculty with their EndNote questions. EndNote 4.0 is designed to: * create bibliographies (stand-alone or in papers) * store and manage a set of references * search publicly accessible bibliographic databases via the Internet, such as PubMed MEDLINE

University of Washington-Seattle (2001). Resources>Bibliographies>Software

Graphics and Web Design Based on Edward Tufte's Principles

This is an outline of Edward Tufte's pioneering work on the use of graphics to display quantitative information.  It mainly consists of text and ideas  taken from his three books on the subject along with some additional material of my own.  This page is in  text only format: in order to understand the concepts you need to read the books because the concepts cannot really be grasped without the illustrations, and current video monitor technology is too low in resolution to do them justice. His work has been described as 'a visual Strunk and White.'

University of Washington-Seattle (1999). Design>Graphic Design>Technical Illustration

Information Design

This graduate course was taught in the Spring 2001 term in the MS program at the University of Washington. The students published four anthologies of papers resulting from their study of information architecture.

Sauer, Geoffrey. University of Washington-Seattle (2001). Academic>Courses>Graduate

Information Design

This graduate course was taught in the Winter 2001 term in the evening MS program at the University of Washington. The students published five anthologies of papers resulting from their study of information architecture.

Sauer, Geoffrey. University of Washington-Seattle (2001). Academic>Courses>Graduate

The Intranet as Ecosystem: A Model for Sustaining Development

The complexity of the intranet and the interrelationship between it and the organization’s overall environment mean that traditional methods for supporting company information technology and communication (in which geographically and administratively separate groups determined company standards and guidelines) may not be adequate for the new medium. Available resources are also inadequate; material for web 'authors' (writers, information architects, graphic artists, and programmers) usually focuses at the site level, and most academic and trade articles on intranets focus on the central internal home page or on aspects of the physical infrastructure. Resources covering the whole intranet generally focus on management issues—hiring staff, setting goals, overseeing the design process, selling ideas to upper management, and getting people to use the system once it is deployed. But support groups tasked with the everyday design and maintenance of the intranet also need to “manage” it—that is, to envision the intranet’s role in the overall communication and technological structure of the organization, design and maintain its architectural structure, and sustain it by ensuring its content is accurate, timely, useful, and usable.

Wilder, Pam. University of Washington-Seattle (2000). Books>Content Management>Intranets

Islam’s Influence on the Egyptian Business Environment: Tips for a Technical Communicator

While disjointed communication may characterize the communication that occurs between Arabs and westerners, technical communicators should work to resolve conflicts and avoid misunderstandings.

Abolrous, Sally. University of Washington-Seattle (2002). Articles>TC>Regional>Middle East

The Perception of Scientific Uncertainty in Science News Writing

When science is represented in the news, articles can misrepresent uncertainty in one of two ways: either they make the science appear more uncertain than it is by focusing on controversy, or they make it appear more certain by focusing on the end result or the discovery. Paradoxically, the high degree of uncertainty that pervades the science covered in most news stories and that, in some cases, makes the science newsworthy, receives little attention. This is because journalists must reconcile the difference between uncertain science and an expectation that news is certain. Somewhere in the reconciliation, uncertainty often gets left out.

Riebeek, Holli. University of Washington-Seattle (2002). Books>Scientific Communication>Journalism

Portfolios to Demonstrate Professional Skills

Explains how electronic portfolios bring together all the assignments in a TC core course, including learning the tools supported by the profession, student assignments, design rationales, and students' reflections on the tools and their skills and abilities.

Turns, Jennifer. University of Washington-Seattle (2001). Presentations>Education>Streaming>Video

Print Production

A spring 2002 tech comm course on offset printing, paper and graphic design for technical communicators.

Sauer, Geoffrey. University of Washington-Seattle (2002). Academic>Courses>Undergraduate

Probing and its Effects on the Validity and Reliability of Verbal Reports

Eliciting verbal reports from participants in usability studies is a commonly used method used to collect performance and preference data. By asking users to 'think-aloud,' usability practitioners can observe users interact with an interface and listen to their concurrent thoughts at the same time. Verbal data is helpful because it allows observers to know how users think—what they look for, how they expect to accomplish tasks, and what elements of the interface they find confusing or helpful.

Abolrous, Sally. University of Washington-Seattle (2001). Articles>Usability>Methods

The Readers and Writers Behind Electronic Mail

As electronic mail replaces face-to-face communication in many work environments, a thorough analysis of this evolving medium and its impact on communication is necessary. In many workplaces, telephone calls and knocks on doors have dramatically decreased in frequency, but the number of emails that circulate through one’s inbox is continuing to increase. Yet, our understanding of this new medium and how it is being used is limited. Some scholars argue that email has many of the characteristics of speech; some argue that it has the same characteristics as writing, while others argue that it is a completely new genre of communication.

Abolrous, Sally. University of Washington-Seattle (2002). Articles>Communication>Online>Email

Single Sourcing, Content Management and the Otobase Project

This report examines some of the issues raised by multiuse publishing in the context of the Otobase software documentation project at the University of Washington. In doing so, it aims to contribute to our understanding of how single sourcing and content management might help us better adapt to users, and also to view the impact of a structured approach to documentation on writers and editors. The report will also use these ideas to suggest both current and long-term improvements for the Otobase project. First, it will briefly describe the project and its current documentation, and then look at theories of single sourcing, content management and structured documents before applying these theories to the project itself.

Burner, Dell. University of Washington-Seattle (2002). Books>Content Management>Single Sourcing

The Slashdot Effect: Analysis of a Large-Scale Public Conversation on the World Wide Web  

This dissertation argues that Slashdot emerged from collaboration among a group that shares a cultural commitment to open discussion. This combination¡ªthe dedication to open discussion with the technology to facilitate mass interaction¡ª allows Slashdot to perform the larger function of linking social groups, voices, and ideas that would otherwise remain separated.

Halavais, Alexander M. Campbell. University of Washington-Seattle (2003). Books>Web Design>Communication>Blogs

STC Research RFP Epost Discussion Board  

The STC Research RFP Discussion Board was created using Epost, part of a University of Washington online toolkit. The discussion board is open to the public.

University of Washington-Seattle. Resources>Collaboration>Research

Storytelling as Collaboration and Community: Designing an Interactive Multi-Author Environment for Hypertext Fiction

While web technology has become pervasive, it might be argued that it has made few fundamental changes in the way we live. The graphical browser and the emergence of corporate entities brought the Web to the forefront of the Internet and brought the Web to the masses. But popularity, along with proprietary and corporate influence changed the goals and focus of online life. In many ways this change in goals resulted in the Internet failing to fulfill much of its initial promise.

Holstrom, Christopher Ryan. University of Washington-Seattle (2002). Books>Web Design

Streaming Academic Presentations: A Web Site Redesigned  

This project involved a comprehensive redesign of the Streaming Audio and Video site on EServer.org. The tasks included predesign planning (audience analysis, flowcharting, scoping the project), designing (creating layout, graphics, and information architecture), and implementing the necessary database and HTML code to execute the methods prescribed in the design.

Hinkelman, Andrew. University of Washington-Seattle (2002). Books>Web Design>Redesign

TC 517: Usability Testing

The web site for a Master's level course on Usability Testing in the Technical Communication department at the University of Washington.

Rose, Emma. University of Washington-Seattle. Academic>Courses>Usability>Testing

Theoretical Dimensions of Technical Communication

This graduate course studies theoretical constructs and issues that inform all technical communication. Inherently a multi-disciplinary activity, tech comm draws on theories from fields as different as rhetoric and science, psychology and philosophy, sociology and linguistics. This term we will focus specifically on rhetoric, on the relationships between author, text and reader, and on philosophies of science and language. The purpose of this seminar is to explore relevant theories in sufficient depth and detail to do justice to their complexity, and, at the same time to examine their applicability to technical communication. Students will be expected to comprehend and challenge these theories on their own terms as well as to understand their value for the interpretation and transfer of technical information. Such understanding is crucial to intelligent decisions in professional practice; it allows the technical communicator to look beyond surface issues and see the essential problems and possible solutions. Theoretical knowledge of the field distinguishes the professional from the practitioner.

Sauer, Geoffrey. University of Washington-Seattle (2002). Academic>Courses>Graduate>Rhetoric

User-Friendly Usability Reports: The Effect of Praise on Product-Improvement Efforts By Teams  

A largely uncharted issue in usability is the effect that a particular style of usability report has on the motivation of the team whose work the report addresses. Recent work in cognitive science and social psychology offers evidence of an intimate interconnection among thought, emotion and motivation, with implications for usability reports as well as other forms of technical communication. In this preliminary study, fifteen triads of adult workers arranged materials on a prototype Web site for forty-five minutes. They were then subjected to negative, positive-and-negative, or neutral feedback conditions. Measures for motivation were post-treatment time on task, as well as individual self-reports on attitudes.

Missimer, Constance A. University of Washington-Seattle (2002). Books>Usability>Reports>Rhetoric

Web Design

TC 437 is a project-oriented course in website design. Implementation is not emphasized. Students receive a grounding in rhetoric, hypertext theory, user interface design, graphic design, and project management as these apply to the Web. Students also study the societal and ethical contexts of the Web and Internet.

Farkas, David K. University of Washington-Seattle (2003). Academic>Courses>Undergraduate>Web Design

Web Design: An Empiricist's Guide  

Before our web sites can achieve their full potential, we need effective site design techniques. But while empirical research and tradition offer reliable guidelines for preparing print works, even the most fundamental web design questions remain open.

Evans, Mary B. University of Washington-Seattle (1998). Books>Web Design