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The Usability SIG explores all aspects of usability in technical communication, software development, and web site design. What is usability, how can it be measured, and why does it matter? How does usability relate to the fields of user experience (UX), Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), human factors, user interface design, ergonomics, and accessibility? How can technical communicators get involved in usability, with or without changing career paths? Through presentations by guest speakers, lively discussions, assigned readings, and occasional field trips, we will attempt to find answers to these and other questions.
Date
Monday, March 26, 2007
Program
Usability Testing for Documentation & Online Help
Description
In the past, to be considered good, documentation merely had to be accurate, complete, and well-written. Now, faced with the trends toward minimalism, single-sourcing, globalization, adaptive content, and the abandonment of traditional printed manuals, technical communicators are discovering that documentation needs to be usable as well. But how can you tell if your documentation is usable? Usability testing, of course.
If you’ve been tasked to improve the usability of your company’s documentation but don’t know where to begin, this meeting is an opportunity to learn the nuts and bolts of usability testing for documentation from world-recognized usability expert Carolyn Snyder. Bringing a real-world perspective to her presentation, Carolyn will address the following topics:
Carolyn will also introduce a variety of usability testing methods appropriate for documentation and help. Many of these techniques, such as paper prototyping, can be used while the documentation content is still being developed. About the Speaker
 Carolyn Snyder of Snyder Consulting is a usability consultant based in the greater Boston area. For
the first decade of her career, she worked as a software engineer and project manager. In 1993, she joined
User Interface Engineering, where she worked with UIE founder Jared Spool until 1999, when she left to launch
her own usability consulting firm. Carolyn has conducted hundreds of usability tests on dozens of interfaces over
the past fourteen years and has become the world’s leading authority on paper prototyping.
Carolyn holds a BS in computer science from the University of Illinois and an MBA from the University of Chicago. Active in professional organizations (Usability Professionals Association, ACM SIG CHI) at both the local and international levels, Carolyn teaches in the Usability Boot Camp and Information Design Certificate Program at Bentley College. In addition to her consulting practice, she writes extensively about usability issues. She is the author of Paper Prototyping: The Fast and Easy Way to Design and Refine User Interfaces, published by Morgan Kaufmann in 2003, and co-author of two books on web usability. Time
Location
Cost and Registration
Please register online for this meeting by March 23. For More Information
For more information about the Usability SIG, please contact SIG coordinator, Marilyn Horn
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