Brian Traynor

Technical communication on life support: Content strategy and UX are the reclamation

The continual redefinition and constriction of the technical communication field has reached epidemic proportions, so much so that the field as it has existed for the last several decades could soon cease to exist. However, many emerging fields encompass aspects of technical communication, with user experience and content strategy as the clearest examples. Discussion of how the integration of technical communication into these fields is happening on a practitioners level and how this will potentially change the face of the profession of technical communication will be investigated. Additionally, a review of how several technical communication university programs responded to this evolution will be discussed.

User-centered design (UCD) and technical communication: The inevitable marriage

As teachers of technical communication, we have come to understand and realize the importance of User-Centered Design (UCD) principles required in and applied to technical communication. With the technical communication field changing so rapidly, this particular issue is of crucial importance; this issue is particularly acute within the confines of the self-service society where users are often thrust into learning products and services with no support. Users increasingly demand products and services that they can understand with little outside help; interactions should be intuitive and experiences satisfying rather than frustrating. With this shift, technical communicators are increasingly expected to be true end-user advocates and participate earlier in the product life-cycle development. This workshop will help practitioners understand UCD, rapidly iterate designs, and provide educators with approaches that engage and prepare students (and teachers). Failure to adapt these methods quickly in both the classroom and the profession will invariably lead to the fields further decline and likely extinction as we currently understand it.

Folk classification of social media platforms: Preliminary findings

There is little understanding of how and on what grounds people perceive or group Social Media Platforms (services) in which they participate into categories that can explain or predict their patterns of use. Some models are discussed and the possibilities of an ecological model are highlighted. This study examined how active users grouped social media platforms. 59 respondents completed an open card sort activity where they categorized 19 social media applications according to their own preferences. Data was also collected on frequency of use of Social Media Platforms as well as perceived use in comparison with peers. Using a series of decision rules, 44 standardized categories were defined. A similarity matrix and dendogram are presented that show strong and weak associations between platforms. A post-session survey provided an opportunity for participants to comment on their organizational preferences and from this user-perceived were themes identified. A discourse analysis of six responses is presented to highlight how specific participants developed their sorting strategies. These methodologies may provide the rich data needed to further develop ecological-type models for classifying social media use and perception.

Media Selection: A Method for Understanding User Choices Among Popular Social Media Platforms

How a person perceives social media platforms should provide insight on the platforms they choose to use or not. Literature reviews highlight studies focused on demographic, familiarity, social influence, application, and usefulness as a means to differentiate choice/use. This study combines quantitative and qualitative techniques to examine Social Media Platform (SMP) preferences.

Usability standards — Evolution, access and practice

Professional communicators are increasingly engaged in User-Centric Design practices and use a variety of methods to assess and revise product information. Increasingly, compliance of work is being demonstrated through adherence to standards. The relationship between some ISO and NIST standards are explained and the potential for Technical Communicators to be involved with usability reports is highlighted. An approach for student access to standards is provided. Examples of where standards awareness can be embedded in course activities are provided.

Case Study: Building UX Design into Citizen Science Applications

Citizen science is the engagement of the public in science or monitoring to address real world problems. Citizen science programs have the ability to provide excellent data for researchers at large spatial and temporal scales. Advancements in technology has resulted in a proliferation of citizen science programs and many are dependent on website and smartphone applications to facilitate data collection, data usability and communication of results. Citizen science applications need to be developed so that they are easy to use and any interface issues identified and resolved before release. Usability reports during the development cycle provide evidenced-based prioritization recommendations. In this paper, two case studies are presented. The Call of the Wild application involved the testing of a high fidelity prototype to collect data on work flow and ease of use. The Wild Watch application provided data on task success and SUS scores that supported release readiness. Both projects continue to have improvements identified based on usability testing.

Rapid paper prototyping: 100 Design sketches in 10 minutes, 18 designs presented, 6 prototypes tested, student engagement - Priceless!

The process for ideation through sketching is introduced as a structured approach to prototype development and subsequent user testing is discussed. Critical thinking skills, adaptability and innovation are key attributes demanded in todays workplace. These can be demonstrated through an iterative design process where students learn to engage with users to validate ideas and identify flaws.

How disciplinary and professional commitments condition approaches to the practice of information architecture as taught in the classroom

How do different instructors approach the problem of information architecture consistent with their disciplinary and professional backgrounds, and what can these instructors learn from each other? In this article, two approaches to delivering an Information Architecture course are examined. This reflective activity demonstrates how curriculum outcomes can be achieved in different ways. Chickering and Gamsons seven principles for instructional assessment are used to compare the approaches. The pros and cons at the student, instructor and departmental level are highlighted.

Free Pile Sort as a Method to Understand Gender Differences: An Ecological Model of Social Media Use

This pilot study looks at a novel methodology that helps to understand how people choose which social platform to use. Beginning with the assumption that affordances alone cannot explain differences in social media platform choice, we propose an ecological model to understand the differences between social media platform choice by gender. We propose that a free pile sort method offers an opportunity to understand influences at the micro, meso, and macro levels of the ecological model that may be subtle and difficult to gage across different social networks using other approaches. We show, in a pilot study, the ways this method reveals fine distinctions in the way male identified persons versus female identified persons think about social media platforms which may help us explain trends in use.

Merging territories part II - A new information design baccalaureate degree moves forward

This paper reflects on the successful implementation of a new degree program and the experience of the first cohort of student graduates. The strategies and decisions made to shape our Information Design degree are discussed. With an underlying focus on user-centric design processes, a number of courses were structured with an inquiry-based teaching philosophy. The collaborative investment in the design of curriculum and course content was deliberate and adjusted in an iterative manner similar to the design processes taught. Two years into the program, as demand far outstripped spots available, an intake interview process was established. The pros and cons of this process are outlined. The major benefit appears to be the alignment of student expectations with program content. A desire at the launch of the program was to facilitate student support initiatives. Some data on student engagement are presented to assess how students feel about the communication baccalaureate degree. A student-written manifesto highlights the attributes and desires of our first graduating cohort.