Ch. 14: Designing and Testing Documents for Usability

• Know how usability testing helps your readers
• Usability testing makes sure the document allows people to do three things:
• locate information they need
• immediately understand information
• use that information safely and successfully
• Understand why a usable design is essential
• A usable design without flaws is essential for safety and/or correct product-use.
• More complicated products require usable documents
• Achieve a usable design
• Analyze the tasks involved, the people using the document, and the setting.
• Who are the readers? Research
• What should this accomplish? Performance Objectives
• Under what conditions will the document be used?
• Create a Design Plan appropriate for the document your are designing
• Write, test, and revise your document
• Draft the document, get someone to read it, and make changes based on what they find confusing. (Simplify the document)
• Edit for technical terms and either define them or replace them with something simpler
• Identify ethical and global issues that affect usability
• Document use is sometimes determined by society- IE: Car seats are usually handed down without a manual- the instructions are now glued on.
• Respect cultural differences in ethics 
• Differentiate usability of print versus online/ multimedia documents
• Online documents
• Used for "doing" things rather than reading long, detailed explanations
• Usually guide readers interactively
• More visual than a printed document (Things can be animated or interactive)
• Flexible organization
• More structure to sections of content