Chapter 20: Instructions and Documentation
- Basic features of documentation
- specific and precise title
- introduction with background information
- list of materials, parts, tools, and conditions required
- sequentially ordered steps
- graphics
- safety information
- measurement, test, and quality control procedures (for specifications)
- conclusion that signals competition of the task (describing finished product and offering troubleshooting advice)
- audience awareness
- invoking multiple senses
- cross-cultural awareness (verbal considerations, design considerations)
- safety information (danger, warning, caution)
Chapter 10: Designing Documents and Interfaces
- Five principles of design:
- balance
- the "weight" of a page is evenly distributed, but not necessarily symmetrical. Discussed through basic weighting guidelines
- alignment
- established information weight through horizontal and vertical positioning
- grouping
- keeping like things together
- consistency
- building meaning through repetition
- contrast
- kinda the opposite of consistency--making elements look distinct to get attention
- use of grids
- cross-cultural issues are good rules of thumb, but we want to avoid cultural chauvinism
Instructor Commentary: Instructions
- Instructions often have one or more of these problems:
- Instructions do not account for audience
- Instructions should be user-centered rather than systems-centered
- Instructions do not match real-world experience
- Instructions are unappealing and obfuscating
- Use safety warnings where appropriate
Instructor Commentary: Design
- Qualities of good design:
- Good design is invisible
- Good design is persuasive
- Good design guides the eye
- Good design uses whitespace effectively
- Good design requires careful attention
Chapter 12: Revising and Editing for Usability
- Four levels of editing
- Revision
- Substantive editing
- Copyediting
- Proofreading
- Copyediting symbols
- Cross-cultural communication
- Usability Testing
- Types of test from (informal to formal):
- Document markup
- Read and Locate test
- Summary test
- Protocols
- Journal or tape recording
- Surveying
- Interviewing
- Focus groups
- Laboratory testing
- The four questions usability testing is designed to answer:
- Can they find it?
- Can they understand it?
- Can they do it?
- Is it safe?
Planet Money Podcast
- Audience (the schism between systems-centered and audience-centered)
- Format (using conventions)
- Design and readability
- Informative, distinct, consistent headings
- Select language for effect
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