[XML-DEV Mailing List Archive Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries] [Reply To This Message] Re: Improved writing -- who's going to pay for it?
At 18:29 13/10/2000, Rick JELLIFFE wrote: >James Robertson wrote: > > > Is it therefore not sensible to do > > "usability testing" (involving real users) > > on documents? > >Yes. However, I doubt if anyone will fund >a comprehensive test program, pay for the >statistically valid number of test subjects, >write different versions of the manual to >trial which is best, etc. and finish before >December (to be in time for the REC), >let alone in the next 2 weeks (to be in time >for the CR.) This is not the way it has to be. Usability testing need not be a massive, statistically-significant exercise. It does not require a "control" group, etc. Have a look at Jakob Nielsen's discussions on "Usability testing on the cheap", and "usability engineering". The first suggests that even trialling a document or design on 5 people can catch many of the usability problems. The latter encourages usability to be considered throughout the design process. In this way, a document can evolve through a number of iterations (guided by small tests), without the need for a separate testing period. Have a look at: http://www.useit.com/ (And no, I don't think this can be done in some virtual, mailing-list fashion. It has to be done by the people writing the document, face-to-face with real users. Otherwise, all that we'll be gathering is opinion.) Just some thoughts, J ------------------------- James Robertson Step Two Designs Pty Ltd SGML, XML & HTML Consultancy Illumination: an out-of-the-box Intranet solution http://www.steptwo.com.au/ jamesr@s...
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