English 421Y: Technical Writing Online

For the online TrueCrypt instruction sets I'm creating I plan on performing a document markup usability test. Because the instruction set for TrueCrypt is a technical procedure with steps, this type of test will provide several key areas of feedback. These include answering the questions to "Can they understand it?" and "Can they do it?". In the document markup usability test a peer reviews the document as they follow the procedures and mark places where they get confused.

After reading this week’s assignments, I have learned about the different usability tests. For my instructions assignment it seems that the document markup will aid me the most in creating effective instructions. While my instructions might work well with more advanced audiences, this test will ensure that my novice audience will also be catered to.

For my instructions project, I think that a document markup test (described in Instructor Blog #6) will be most appropriate for my project. I think this test would be most appropriate for my instructions because it will help me identify the places in my instructions where I haven't explained clearly how to find the commands or buttons in the InDesign workspace. I have read several InDesign instructions (and other Adobe programs, e.g.

In this weeks reading the author discussed many different types of editing techniques and highlighted the importance of each. The point made about computers making it very easy to forget to revise is something that I also believe happens a lot. The reading went on to discuss the different types of usability tests. There were several different tests mentioned and some were similar to others but each had their own specific target. For my Instructions Project the usability test that I believe will be most effective in telling me what I need to revise is the summary test.

For this reading we learned more about the different types of methods that we could use in our document. I think that the best one that i could use is the document markup. I originally thought that the survey might be a good idea for my project, but after reading through the different test i think that the document is a better selection. For the instruction document i am making a step by step direction of how to re grip a golf club. The instructions are not going to go into too much detail because it should be done by someone that is in the profession that knows for the most part what to do.

After reading the chapter from TCT I can definitely attest to the fact that I have turned in "finished" rough drafts, which is obviously due to not allowing for enough time to properly edit my document. After a few bad grades due to simple spelling mistakes, I realized how much I could benefit from allowing for time to edit.

Considering the project at hand, I will strive to follow a “Level 1 edit” which begins with revision, covers substantive editing, then copyediting, and concludes with proofreading. This method of document revision will prove most beneficial for my technical instructions as it is thorough and unanimously recommended when possessing a sufficient time schedule. However, depending on how well I progress and in what length of time, I may be forced to adopt a higher level of editing that begins at a later phase, i.e. omitting revision and starting with substantive editing.

In this week’s Reading Response, the students are asked to read articles that focus on usability testing. Usability testing is experimenting your document in its functional nature with valid readers. There are several effective usability testing techniques that allow the writer to understand if their technical document is efficient enough for real world applications. Usability testing is broken down into two categories: Informal and formal testing. Each test is organized by experimentation on the sample of users.

As I am creating the content of my instructions this week, it is timely that we are also talking about usability testing. Although common sense would tell us that we need to do some type of usablility testing, the TCT article and this week's Instructor Blog helped me understand what format I will use to evaluate my instructions' usability.

After reading the instructor blog and chapter 12 in the book, I have pretty much narrowed down my choices for the usability test to either use a read and locate test or a summary test. A document markup might not work well for me because not that many people in this class have an XBOX 360, let alone Call of Duty 5 for it. I also don’t think that a survey would be the best test for me to choose, just because that does not really answer any specific questions for me.