Overview

I will never forget a Christmas Eve many years ago, when the kids were finally asleep, and Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus began the assembly of the much desired “brand name” doll house. Out came the tools, out came a hundred or so tiny plastic parts, and out came an instruction sheet written by someone clearly from another land far away. After several hours of attempting to decipher some of the worst instructions ever written, we recruited a neighbor’s 12-year-old, a seasoned veteran in the world of dream houses, and the assembly was completed in time for Christmas morning.

Whenever usability is mentioned, this incident comes to mind. Usability, a term that refers to how easily and effectively a person can use a document, website, or product to achieve a purpose, is an integral element of workplace and technical writing and must not be overlooked at any level. On the web, it’s critical for survival…if users can’t figure out how to purchase that awesome table lamp, they will quickly go elsewhere on the web to shop. The vendor loses money. If users can’t find the information they need, they will move on…there is plenty else out there that will meet their needs. And someone loses money. In the office, if employees spend large amounts of time figuring out unclear documents or deciphering poorly written instructions, the company loses money.

The concept of testing usability is relatively new…in the 1960’s the rise of the computer industry brought about a need for user manuals and engineers realized that it would be important to know how users interacted with the materials and the technology. When personal computers became available in the 1980’s and the 1990’s brought the World Wide Web into households and businesses, engineers and designers…and technical writers…recognized that research into how people used and interacted with computers and documents was essential for the development of not just programs and software, but for instructional materials. (Jameson p399).

As a technical writer in the 21st century, you must incorporate some level of usability testing or evaluation in the documents you create. Without some level of testing, you won’t know if you have done the job; you won’t know if your reader is annoyed or frustrated by writing that is not accurate and comprehensible,  or if a design  is or is not accessible. Usability testing helps you learn if information is missing, or even if your links and design features simply don’t work.