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Subject:Usability Testing From:"George F. Hayhoe" <george -at- GHAYHOE -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 24 Jun 1998 10:05:09 -0400
Rowena said:
<<As Carol and George Hayhoe pointed out, technical writers are not
qualified to perform usability testing.>>
Carol may have said that, but I most certainly didn't. (I teach a course in
usability studies for technical communicators through Utah State's distance
learning master's program.)
It's true that technical communicators need additional training to design,
conduct, and evaluate the results of usability tests, but they already
possess a lot of knowledge that is relevant. That may be why some of the top
usability experts are technical communicators.
Furthermore, in response to other comments in this thread, I'm convinced
that a usability program doesn't have to be elaborate or expensive to add
considerable value to a company's products and services. You don't need
fancy labs, costly video equipment, and high-priced consultants to improve
the user interface of your software or the user-friendliness of your manuals
or help systems. You do need management commitment to the importance of the
testing, and you need to be able to convince the engineers that they MIGHT
not develop intuitive products (and that can be easy to do--invite them to
observe a test!).
Increased usability isn't free; quality never is. But (as someone noted
earlier in the thread) no organization can afford not to invest in it, even
if the investment is a modest one.
