Communication Design

Judy Ramey, Chair

Technical Communication, UW

Communication Design

Brief historical note about TC

Contemporary TC: sample job descriptions

Key skills and abilities

What communication design adds to the design process

Getting user feedback with simple usability testing

Q&A

A Brief Historical Note

TC: describing how it works, how to do it

World War II spurred huge growth

‘80s and ‘90s: technical writing evolves into communication design

Web leads to growth in both back-end technical development and creative content development

Contemporary TC:
Sample Job Descriptions

Executive Producer, MAGI Group, Inc.: “I manage a team of web/multimedia producers. We bring text, graphics, animation, audio, video, and technology together to create Web and CD-ROM solutions for our clients. Challenging but fun!”

"Usability Manager,"

Usability Manager, Business Tools Division, Microsoft (was Visio): “I investigate user issues and make sure our findings influence product design. My job includes creating team strategies for getting on the user wavelength for four different product groups.”

"Master of Scribes,"

Master of Scribes, Loudeye: “I manage user education. UE is responsible for internal and external technical documentation (planning, writing, editing, publishing, maintaining) and usability (planning, doing site visits, prototyping, testing, evaluating, recommending improvements).”

"Program Manager,"

Program Manager, Human-Centered Design, Akamai: “We work with product managers and engineering on all aspects of product design and development. We participate in specifying the target customers, build task and information flow maps, design prototype UIs, and do usability testing.”

"User Experience Engineer,"

User Experience Engineer, Microsoft: “I do the research necessary to understand who our users are and what they want to do, then I design all aspects of the users’ encounter with our product—user interface, task flow, online documentation, help, wizards . . .”

Key Skills and Abilities

Left-brain, right-brain!

Creative abilities

Content creation, graphic design, fluency and style (writing, editing, layout, scripting)

Empathy, ability to role-play

Analytical abilities

Audience analysis, task analysis, needs assessment

"Information architecting"

Information architecting

Ability to collect and analyze data

Organizational abilities

Project management

Ability to manage tradeoffs to achieve organizational goals

What Communication Design Adds to the Design Process

Early on: Investigate and describe who the intended users are and what they want to do (audience analysis, requirements analysis)

Early on: Investigate and describe what the intended users need to know and invent ways to meet their needs

The magic: anticipating the unknown (new technologies and the frontiers of use!)

"Mid-design:"

Mid-design: Does your prototype work for typical users? Why or why not?

What can go wrong?—Everything!

Values don’t match users’ values

Terminology doesn’t match that of users

Style doesn’t engage users

Task organization doesn’t match that of users

Late design: Have we got it right yet?

Communication Design Crafts the Right Message for the Need

Think like me: organize the info my way

Give me the idea: self-running demos

Step me through: “training wheels,” wizards, cue cards

Give me running commentary: IBM’s “info pops,” balloon help

Tell me how: online help, user guide

Tell me why: concepts, definitions

Communication Design Goes Deep in Website Design

A Website communicates a personality and offers a relationship

A Website talks to the user and offers the user roles to play

Usability problems mostly grow out of communication problems

Bottom line: Usability problems come BEFORE the sale

Getting User Feedback with Simple Usability Testing

How to get user input into your design

How to get user feedback as you design

The basic process: find typical users, give them expected tasks or activities, get them to talk as they work

Not an interview!—an observation

User is center stage, designer just watches and learns!

“Discount” Usability Test

An example: travel clock

Typical tasks: set the time, set an alarm

Volunteer!

Watch for design problems

Analyze what we saw

Figure out how to improve the design

Share the results

Q&A

What do you want to know about the field?

What do you want to know about the TC department?


	Brief historical note about TC
	Contemporary TC: sample job descriptions
	Key skills and abilities
	What communication design adds to the design process
	Getting user feedback with simple usability testing
	Q&A


	TC: describing how it works, how to do it
	World War II spurred huge growth
	‘80s and ‘90s: technical writing evolves into communication design
	Web leads to growth in both back-end technical development and creative content development


	Executive Producer, MAGI Group, Inc.: “I manage a team of web/multimedia producers. We bring text, graphics, animation, audio, video, and technology together to create Web and CD-ROM solutions for our clients. Challenging but fun!”


	Usability Manager, Business Tools Division, Microsoft (was Visio): “I investigate user issues and make sure our findings influence product design. My job includes creating team strategies for getting on the user wavelength for four different product groups.”


	Master of Scribes, Loudeye: “I manage user education. UE is responsible for internal and external technical documentation (planning, writing, editing, publishing, maintaining) and usability (planning, doing site visits, prototyping, testing, evaluating, recommending improvements).”


	Program Manager, Human-Centered Design, Akamai: “We work with product managers and engineering on all aspects of product design and development. We participate in specifying the target customers, build task and information flow maps, design prototype UIs, and do usability testing.”


	User Experience Engineer, Microsoft: “I do the research necessary to understand who our users are and what they want to do, then I design all aspects of the users’ encounter with our product—user interface, task flow, online documentation, help, wizards . . .”


	Left-brain, right-brain!
	Creative abilities
		Content creation, graphic design, fluency and style (writing, editing, layout, scripting)
		Empathy, ability to role-play
	Analytical abilities
		Audience analysis, task analysis, needs assessment


		Information architecting
		Ability to collect and analyze data
	Organizational abilities
		Project management
		Ability to manage tradeoffs to achieve organizational goals


	Early on: Investigate and describe who the intended users are and what they want to do (audience analysis, requirements analysis)
	Early on: Investigate and describe what the intended users need to know and invent ways to meet their needs
	The magic: anticipating the unknown (new technologies and the frontiers of use!)


	Mid-design: Does your prototype work for typical users? Why or why not?
	What can go wrong?—Everything!
		Values don’t match users’ values
		Terminology doesn’t match that of users
		Style doesn’t engage users
		Task organization doesn’t match that of users
	Late design: Have we got it right yet?


	Think like me: organize the info my way
	Give me the idea: self-running demos
	Step me through: “training wheels,” wizards, cue cards
	Give me running commentary: IBM’s “info pops,” balloon help
	Tell me how: online help, user guide
	Tell me why: concepts, definitions


	A Website communicates a personality and offers a relationship
	A Website talks to the user and offers the user roles to play
	Usability problems mostly grow out of communication problems
	Bottom line: Usability problems come BEFORE the sale


	How to get user input into your design
	How to get user feedback as you design
	The basic process: find typical users, give them expected tasks or activities, get them to talk as they work
	Not an interview!—an observation
	User is center stage, designer just watches and learns!


	An example: travel clock
	Typical tasks: set the time, set an alarm
	Volunteer!
	Watch for design problems
	Analyze what we saw
	Figure out how to improve the design
	Share the results


	What do you want to know about the field?
	What do you want to know about the TC department?