“The revising and editing phase is where your documents will go from ‘adequate’ to ‘excellent’”
This quote from chapter 12 describes perfectly the reasoning that we should all really take a good look at our documents during this phase of the project, though they may seem good enough, this is our opportunity to make them perfect. I plan on beginning with Level one revising of my current thumbnails and graphics that we did last week. By revising these preliminary documents I feel I will be able to improve my finished product. My main goal in this revision stage is to concentrate on whether or not this document will meet its intended reader’s needs.
After completing level 1 revisions, I will then move on to level 2 editing. In this editing stage I will be concentrating on the design and layout of my instructions. I will make sure that they guide the reader’s eyes and that an adequate amount of white space is used. I also plan on ensuring that all of my graphics are correctly placed and labeled in this stage. Within level 2 I will also make sure that all of my content is complete as far as quality and depth of content is concerned. After completion of level 2, obviously level 3 is in order, in level 3 I will ensure that all of my formatting and positioning of paragraphs, headers, footers, and graphics is consistent throughout the document. At this point I will also verify that my sentences are worded properly and follow a similar pattern. After completion of level 3, I will move to level 4 to ensure proper grammar throughout my document. I am pretty bad with commas so I plan on having this document looked at by a few different proof readers, after I have proofed it myself.
As far as the usability tests are concerned, I think the main usability test I will utilize is the survey test. The process I am describing isn’t common knowledge for most people, thus though it may seem very simple to me other novice users may have a difficult time understanding some aspects of my instructions. I will give my instructions to multiple users of varying knowledge and have them give me their opinion on whether or not the information throughout the instructions is clear or too technical perhaps. The document markup would also be a helpful usability test, as I will be directing the reader’s attention to different graphics throughout my instructions. I hope to guide their eyes so they don’t have to search to find where some information may be hiding.
Thanks!
Jason Flittner
Graphic Editing
I like your idea of editing your layout and graphics before you start to write your instructions. This could save you a lot of time later if you realize that your current design doesn't work out as well as you thought it would. It will also give you a solid foundation for when you do start to write the actual instructions. With your pictures and layout set, all you will have to do is choose the right wording to get the point across. This idea never really occurred to me, I just thought I would start writing and adjust my format as I went along if it didn't work. This will inevitably lead to a headache when I start writing and then decide I need to make a change but can't figure out what to change. Now I think I will sit down and take a long look at my thumbnails before I begin the writing process. Hopefully this will save me from lost time and frustration down the road.
Outlines
Editing your graphics is a good start for writing your documentation. I am doing that too as well as making an outline before I start writing the steps. If you have a layout of where you are going to put things with headings it will make the whole process a lot easier as the words will flow through your fingertips. Even though you have various levels of editing I would make sure not to cross them off your list as something could not flow in a latter level. Making sure you are able to backtrack and fix new mistakes that might occur is a good step in the editing process.
Graphics/Pictures then Descriptions
Also, the first thing that I did when I started to make my rough drafts, besides doing the basic layouts last week, was to get all of my pictures taken and to put all of my graphics into the layouts. I found that it was easier for me if I had put all of the pictures/graphics into my instructions first so that I could make sure that I was not missing any steps or if I had skipped any. Once I have finished putting my graphics in, which I plan on doing tonight, I am going to look through all of the pictures to make sure they are in order, and they I am going to add in my steps and descriptions.
usability test
I liked your idea of giving your instructions to many people of different skill levels. That seems like the best way to find out if you are leaving anything out or are unclear on any of your steps. One of the most difficult parts of writing the instructions I thought was deciding how much to include in the novice instructions without including too much information that will just overwhelm the user. Having multiple people of different skill levels test your instructions will ensure that they work for novices of any experience level and that none of your users will get lost or confused.
Patrick Griffin
pgriffin@purdue.edu
good outline
I like how you've really taken advantage of all the steps outlined in this week's readings, and how you've gone out of your way to plan how you will be revising and editing your instructions. I think, in completing this process, you will be able to create an instructional set that really takes advantage of the user-centered focus.
I also like how you've chosen to use a survey type usability test, and how you plan to question both advanced and beginner (novice) users. I didn't even think about this before, but this obviously seems like a good way of recieving the feedback that you likely desire. You also might consider having two different types of surveys for each instance, to obtain the kind of responses you really desire.