Presentation: Techniques for Reviewing a User Interface

The most popular of my presentations ;-) I have delivered this presentation (or a slightly modified version of it) at these annual conferences:

• WritersUA (Portland 2008; Seattle 2009)
• AODC (Surfers Paradise 2008)
• ASTC (NSW) (Sydney 2008)

All handouts, checklists, etc. related to this presentation are available from the CyberText website.

The focus of this presentation:

• what to look for when checking an application’s user interface, including overall design, textual and visual elements, user actions and interactions, navigational links, and the ‘-ilities’: accessibility, readability, usability
• some tools that can help automate parts of the review process

[Links last checked April 2009]

Presentation: Reviewing Screen-based Content

In 2006, I delivered this presentation to the annual AODC Conference in Cairns, and to the annual ASTC (NSW) Conference in Sydney later that year.

There are two sets of slides: the first set contains the presentation, the second set contains the examples I used.

All accompanying handouts, resource lists etc. are available from the CyberText website.

The focus of this presentation was:

• what to look for when checking a website, a CHM, and an animated tutorial or demonstration
• how to capture screen-based content in a form suitable for printing (for hand mark-up) or electronic delivery (for screen mark-up)
• which software tools can help automate the reviewing process

This presentation does not cover general text editing, such as writing style, punctuation, etc.

[Links last checked April 2009]

Presentation: Customizing HTML Outputs from Author-it

I delivered this presentation at the annual WritersUA Conference in Palm Springs in 2006.

Be aware that Author-it software has been updated several times since 2004 so some of the techniques shown in this presentation, which applied to v4.x, may not be relevant now.

All accompanying handouts are available from the CyberText website.

The focus of this presentation was on:

• how the various Author-it pieces fit together and what you need to make it all work
• how to modify the default HTML templates for HTML-based Help and websites
• how to set up Author-it to produce HTML newsletters
• how to set up Author-it to produce HTML-based slide presentations

[Links last checked April 2009]

Presentation: Time-saving Techniques Using Author-it

I delivered this presentation at the annual WritersUA Conference in Las Vegas in 2005. Be aware that Author-it software has been updated several times since 2005 so some of the techniques shown in this presentation, which applied to v4.x, may not be relevant now.

All accompanying handouts are available from the CyberText website.

The focus of this presentation was on how to:

• create, assign, manage, and use Author-it variables
• use system variables to add ‘feedback loops’ for online content
• create, manage, and use embedded and reusable content
• use release states to save time for reviewers
• use release states to create “What’s New” and “What’s Updated” topics

[Links last checked April 2009]

Presentation: Author-it Tips and Tricks

This presentation was a collaborative one with the other inaugural Author-it Certified Consultant, Char James-Tanny. We jointly delivered this presentation at the 51st STC Annual Conference in Baltimore in 2004. Be aware that Author-it software has been updated several times since 2004 so some of the techniques shown in this presentation, which applied to v4.x, may not be relevant now.

All accompanying handouts are available from the CyberText website.

[Links last checked April 2009]

Presentation: Training 101

These two similar presentations were based on my experiences in the 1990s delivering computer training to adults in remote Australian locations.

The first was delivered at the 49th STC Annual Conference held in Nashville in 2002, and the second was delivered at the 50th STC Annual Conference held in Dallas in 2003.

All accompanying handouts and checklists are available from the CyberText website.

[Links last checked April 2009]

List of plain language alternatives

Having edited hundreds of scientific reports in the past few months, I have seen some pretty ordinary writing — unclear, passive voice, third person, future tense, assigning actions to inanimate objects, disagreements between subjects and verbs, etc.

But the worst offenders are the words the authors continue to utilize use, perhaps in the hope that their reports may sound more learned. Wrong! It just makes them harder to read and understand.

There’s a lot to be said for clear writing, and finally governments around the world are doing something about it. The US Federal Government, for example, has this:

On June 1, 1998, President Clinton issued an executive memo requiring agencies to write in plain language. Several statutes have also admonished agencies to write certain types of documents in plain language. In 2004, an interagency task force working on behalf of the Office of Management and Budget called for federal websites to be written in plain language. (from: http://plainlanguage.gov/whatisPL/index.cfm)

And on the US Federal Government’s Plain Language website, they have a list of recommended simple words and phrases: http://plainlanguage.gov/howto/wordsuggestions/simplewords.cfm

Note: The Plain English Foundation and the ASTC (NSW) are joining forces to host the Plain Language Association InterNational (PLAIN) annual conference in Sydney in October 2009. Conference details…

WordPress now allows Slideshare embedding

For some time now, WordPress has allowed bloggers to embed YouTube videos into blog posts. Recently they announced that we can embed TED Talks videos. Now Slideshare have announced that slide sets hosted on their site can be embedded into WordPress.

This is good news for me as I have several of my conference presentations on Slideshare. They get much greater exposure there than they do on my website. My web pages that have these slide decks probably get about 50 to 100 hits per month, but on Slideshare the views are now in the thousands.

Adding this capability to embed Slideshare slide decks into WordPress blogs is great and potentially offers them to a larger audience (I average over 500 hits per business day on this blog now, up from 400 per day just 3 months ago).

Over the next few weeks, I’ll embed my slide decks in this blog so that you can view them without going to another site. Meantime, if you can’t wait ;-) you can always click the Slideshare button on the right (just below Blog Stats) to go to all my slide decks.

[Links last checked April 2009]

When readers can’t read

Tony Self, founder of Hyperwrite and the AODC Conference, lecturer at Swinburne University, DITA expert, and all-round great guy, recently published an article in a members-only Australian technical communications journal about “What if readers can’t read”, where he postulates that writers will have to change to adapt to the new generations coming through our schools and universities now.

Tony also spoke on this at the recent WritersUA Conference and will repeat this presentation at the 2009 AODC Conference in Melbourne in May. I didn’t get to see it at WritersUA as it clashed with another session I particularly wanted to attend; however, I did read his article, which has caused a bit of controversy and discussion on some technical writing lists I’m on.

If you want evidence that the way young people communicate has changed dramatically, then you only need to view these short videos that Tony showed in his session (thanks to Kris W for alerting me to them):

• A Vision of Students Today: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o
• Shift Happens: www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMcfrLYDm2U
• Large Hadron Rap: www.youtube.com/watch?v=j50ZssEojtM

User Assistance in Web Forms

Luke Wroblewski spoke on this topic on the second day of the WritersUA 2009 Conference in Seattle. Luke is always an entertaining speaker, with examples that lead to some great ‘ah ha!’ moments. Here are my notes from his session:

• (Most) Forms suck.
• The primary goal for every form is completion. Show progress towards completion in long forms.
• Eye tracking studies show that left-aligned forms are simplest to scan, and have a clear visual path to completion — straight down the page, not zig-zagging from side to side.
• Top-aligned labels are faster to complete as users process the label and the accompanying field in one pass. Ideal where data being collected is familiar (e.g. name, address).
• Use left-aligned labels were data is unfamiliar as this slows down the user, allowing them time to think.
• Use right-aligned labels where vertical screen space is a constraint; otherwise, don’t use at all.
• Labels within input fields: Disappear as user starts to enter data; make sure the UA goes away if user doesn’t input anything; clearly distinguish UA from data (e.g. —your selection—)
• Required fields: If all are required, don’t use an indicator for each (confusing); if most are required, only use an indicator (e.g. ‘(optional)’) for those that aren’t required; if some are required, use an indicator such as an asterisk; associate indicators with labels, NOT input fields.
• Only use Help and Tips in these situations: when asking for unfamiliar data; if users might want to know why data is being requested; where there are recommended data input formats. Do not overuse as they can be overwhelming.
• Validation: Provide direct feedback as data is entered. A study Luke was involved in showed that a form is 87% more effective with inline validation. Inline validation is especially useful for fields with potentially high error rates.
• Commands: Not all form actions are equal. Reset, Cancel, Go Back rarely need to be used, so can be omitted or relegated to lesser importance using faded color, smaller size, etc. Primary actions directly responsible for form submission include Submit, Continue, Next, Save etc. Make these larger or a brighter color to emphasize their importance, and align such that they are part of the clear path to completion.
• Actions in progress: Provide feedback where an action may take some time to process (e.g. form submission, data calculation, uploads); disable ‘Submit’ button while action is occurring to avoid duplicate submissions; consider streamlining legal requirements (e.g. instead of a check box to confirm that the user has read the terms and conditions, make it a statement and associate it with the submission button — “By clicking Register, I agree that I have read the Terms and Conditions” or similar.
• Errors: Clearly indicate an error has occurred by placing the error in a conspicuous place with a conspicuous color (this ‘doubles’ the visual language for an error); provide information on how to correct the error.

My other conference links:

• WritersUA 2009: Day 1 (http://cybertext.wordpress.com/2009/03/31/writersua-2009-day-1/)
• Interview with Scott McCloud (http://cybertext.wordpress.com/2009/04/07/interview-with-scott-mccloud/)
• Interview with Mary Jo Foley (http://cybertext.wordpress.com/2009/04/01/interview-with-mary-jo-foley/)
• WritersUA 2009: Day 2 (http://cybertext.wordpress.com/2009/04/01/writersua-2009-day-2/)
• WritersUA 2009: Day 3 (http://cybertext.wordpress.com/2009/04/02/writersua-2009-day-3/)
• I just spotted a one-legged woman… (http://cybertext.wordpress.com/2009/04/03/i-just-spotted-a-one-legged-woman/)

[Links last checked April 2009]