By: Ryan & Andrea
This chapter talks about what usability actually is, critical principles that guide it, testing usability, the different kinds of testing, differences in those that use it, how to implement a test plan, conducting and reporting the tests, and the accessibility aspect of usability.
The chapter starts out talking about how different documents may be hard to comprehend and can make the experience frustrating, which would be poor usability. To be usable the communication needs to successfully meet the needs of the people that are using documents, websites or other media in difficult situations. This is why usability is important.
Usability is the degree in which texts easily and effectively enable people to accomplish their goals. There are five principles that are very important and need to be applied to visuals, presentations, print and electronic texts. These principles can be used to assess the usability to different kinds of texts developed by technical communicators and technical professionals. They are:
Learnability- How easily people learn to use the text and how quickly they can
become productive using them?
Efficiency- How productive people are while using the text or product?
Memorability- How well do people remember how to use the text or products
from one use to another?
Error Recovery- How many errors and how serious are those errors that the users
make? How quickly can the users correct those errors?
Satisfaction- How satisfied are the users with the product’s performance and do
they enjoy using them?
Usability testing is very important in usability principles. Usability testing gathers information from people that are similar to the intended users. They are observed while using the products and texts, which measures the five principles, learnability, efficiency, memorability, error recovery, and user satisfaction. The purpose of usability testing is to identify problems before the text is released and also for historical records of the test results, which is helpful for future documents or development of additional materials. The testing provides information in ways in which people think, believe, feel and perform, the four areas are:
Cognitive: How users think about the test?
Perception: How the users understand the text?
Affect: What the users’ attitudes are towards the test?
Performance and behavior: What do users do with the text and products, how do
they try to solve the problems and what do they do
when they are faced with a problem?
There are limitations when designing a test and some things that a person needs to consider is who is participating in the test and what kind of attitudes they have will have an affect on the end result. The testing situation is something else to consider, the tests need to be designed to reflect different situations in which communication will be used. The technique of the test, different stages require different procedures, so design appropriate testing for each stage of development. Last, the testing procedures can have an affect on the end result. Even though testing takes time, it increases the chances that serious usability problems will be avoided.
There are three types of testing, text-based, expert-based, and user-based. Text-based tests are a range of local-level language, visual and design features. Conclusions are drawn from this and changes are done to improve the text’s accessibility and comprehensibility. Expert-based testing is useful for assessing technical accuracy and supporting evidence for the intended audience. It uses technical reviews by subject-matter experts, substantive editorial reviews and design reviews. User-based testing obtains information directly from users, which is more sufficient then text-based testing and expert-based testing.
Information that is collected from users as they read and use a text is called concurrent testing. It involves watching users’ behaviors as they perform a task. Another kind of concurrent testing is having users read and think aloud. This shows specific areas that are confusing or tasks that are difficult for users. Retrospective testing is information collected from users after they have finished using a text. Some methods are questionnaires, interviews, or focus groups.
There are 10 steps to consider before starting a testing process:
1. Goals- Come up with goals for your testing
2. Criticality- Decide what type of testing feedback you need
3. Constraints- Figure out constraints that you have to work with
4. Schedule- Build a time for testing into the schedule
5. Involvement- Make sure all key personnel understand the goals and cooperate
with the testing
6. Timing- Test products and texts are different points in development
7. Goodness of fit- Test procedures should be appropriate and relevant to the
goals
8. Ease of use- Test procedures must be easy for test participants to understand
9. Usable form- Manage the production of test data so usable results are
achieved
10. Updating- Test results will be used as part of the development and revision
process
You want to select users that fit the profile of your target audiences. Then you can implement the plan. This involves selecting test participants, developing test questions and introducing the rules and procedures to the participants. Then the test can be given. Once the test is finished you may review the results. Look at the amount of time it took the participants to complete tasks, or how many errors took place during certain tasks, or how often different test participants note the same usability issues.
Ensuring Accessibility
Accessibility is an important aspect of usability which focuses on providing access to information, especially to people who have disabilities. Technical communicators and professionals should promote information for all people. They need to consider the differences in users’ vision, hearing, cognition, and also take into consideration their economic, educational and physical environments. Seven principles that were developed for accessibility are:
Equitable use- design is useful to people with diverse abilities
Flexibility- Accommodates a wide range of individual preference and abilities
Simple and intuitive- Design is easy to understand
Perceptible information- Communication necessary information effectively to
users, regardless of condition or sensory abilities
Tolerance for error- Design minimizes hazards or unintended actions that may
occur
Low physical effort- Design can be used efficiently and comfortably with
minimum fatigue
Size and Space for approach- Appropriate size and space are provided, regardless
of user’s body size, posture or mobility
Lastly, accessibility often refers to American with Disabilities Act. So, this requires technology information of federal agencies, vendors, or contractors to have accessibility for people with disabilities, including their own employees.
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14 comments:
Well, for my instruction sheet I chose something pretty easy to begin with. Then asked our 2 year old to do what I said and he figured out what I was asking. Granted he had done the activity before, but I made him break it down step by step and stop inbetween each. I also read the sidebar on page 335-6 and found it very interesting. It also will tie into our next assignment of translating out instructions into another language. My favorite was how Coca-Cola picked a name for their product in china that translated into "bite the wax tadpole". Mmmm, that sounds refreshing! I also remember when i worked at Heat-n-Glo in my home town building fireplaces. We had to put instruction and saftly stickers on them. When we got a person on our line that spoke spanish as his primary language, he read the stickers and sort of laughed cuz it was translated incorrectly.
I think it’s interesting when people say they either really like a certain textbook or can’t stand one. I think an important factor that differentiates between the two is their level of usability. I know some of my textbooks have been relatively easy to read and comprehend while others can be so confusing and thus, less effective. As a psychology major, we have to read many journal articles and they can be so difficult and complex to understand. I have to read through them numerous times to help clarify the actual content. However, I realize that some documents may be difficult to comprehend, but ensuring usability and making them user friendly is very helpful and essential to the reader.
Very thorough summary for an important topic. If a document isn't user friendly or usable, you better believe people aren't gonna use it. When it comes to instructions, knowing your audience (prior knowledge & reading levels) is key for making your document usuable. I've got a little sample of what i've been dealing with lately in my Philosophy class. Here's sentence 1 of chapter 1...
"There are few circumstances among those which make up the present condition of human knowledge more unlike what might have been expected, or more significant of the backward state in which spuculation on the most important subject still lingers, than the little progress which has been made in the decision of the controversy respecting the criterion of right and wrong."
This is very good timing for this chapter with the assignment we just completed. Usabilty was the main focus of the instruction sheet assignment. It would be very interesting to see how easily people would be able to follow the instructions that we each wrote and to get some user-based testing on them.
I do not think I can stress how important this chapter was to this instruction assignment. Usability is vital to the success of the instruction assignment. If the reader cannot follow through with the instructions, what is the point of even having instructions? Instructions that are easy to follow and are true are very important. And this chapter on usability talked about this chapter the whole way. This is also related to our extra assignment to relate this assignment to the book. For me, this is how it did relate; through this chapter.
The summary covered most of the points in the chapter well. Testing the usability of documents in various ways is a good idea. Otherwise more useful ways may be left out. Sometimes after informing others how to do something I'll realize that I left some useful information out like I was assuming they already knew or they could read my mind. Even though what I chose for the instruction assignment is a simple process to me, I tried to make sure that all the useful info was included for beginners.
When it comes to usability you need to be interested in what you are reading. Ether that or you have to want to know what is trying to be explained to you. I can't stand reading text books, especially when its for a general requirement class. Making text easy to understand is essential. I hate when writers us complicated words that I rarely ever hear, its not going to make you look like a bad writer if you simple English. When it comes to instructions I feel it is in everyones best interest in using simple words with as many pictures. I have always found it easier to do what I see vs do what I read.
Its really funny how every chapter in this book somehow relates to my current or previous of an upcoming job. This chapter however has come closest to the kind of job that I do. Part of my job as a Software Engineer is to test applications that Thomson West creates. So we test applications for usability, performance, readability etc. Also we are provided documents relating to testing procedures, test cases, test steps etc. All the points mentioned in this chapter come really close to the kind job I do and these issues mentioned here are either things I need to be careful about or things I have noticed of the documents we are provided.
Usability is one of those things that I believe is very important in everyday activities. At work, I am always using a different type og software and if I don't understand it, I give up and wait until someone can explain it to me. I think of myself as a pretty smart person, but I get frustrated easily. If I can't do it the first time, I quit and move on to the next thing. Everything in life needs to be user friendly. We are always functioning on different things everyday. Some of it common sense, others are not. This is why people invented direction manuals.
Very good summary of the chapter. A document of any sort needs to be usable. If it is not usable then there should be very thorough instructions on how to use it. The usability of something is very dependent on how clear it is to the audience. Usability is relevant to anything technical.
This chapter pretty much runs hand in hand with our instruction assignment. Usability is a very important concept that must be a main focus when creating any kind of instructions. It can be hard sometimes making sure usability is followed when you are writing so you need to think about your instructions from the point of view of someone who has never done the activity.
I thought you did a good job covering all the main points of the chapter. I think that this chapter fit in with what we are doing right now great.
In my time here at MSU I have definitely come across very user-friendly book as well as some completely unusable books. If usability is not considered while drafting up the text, then the end user will not gain any benefit from reading the material!
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