EServer TC Library: Recent Additions

Agile for Information Development

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:08:44 CST

Software development methods seem to change more often than the seasons, and just when information development professionals are familiar with one approach a new one comes along. One method that has received wide acceptance and seems to have some staying power, however, is the Agile software development method. As described by the Agile Manifesto (2001), Agile software development is: a group of software development methodologies; based on iterative and incremental development; solutions evolve through collaboration of cross-functional teams. Clymer, Laura

Getting Started with Content Strategy in Technical Communication

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:06:55 CST

Content strategy may not affect your short-term goals, but it needs to be part of your long-term planning. Thinking about content strategy is the difference between asking, “How do I get this PDF formatted correctly?” and “Should we be delivering PDF to our customers?” To begin moving toward content strategy in your organization, you need to learn about the organization and its goals. What are the goals that executives are striving to meet this quarter, this year, and in the next three years? O'Keefe, Sarah

Speak for Your Users through an Expert Review

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:05:33 CST

You know you lend value to a product by being the user’s advocate. However, your role in many cases is that of documenting as clearly as you can what might not be intuitive or obvious in the product’s design or interaction. That’s because technical communicators are frequently brought in at the end of the product development process, when problems in the application must be addressed in the documentation, not fixed in the product. What if you could influence the timeline so that the product got better for target users during development? Wouldn’t that result in better sales and better documentation, showcasing key features in a straightforward and convincing way? Barnum, Carol

Minimalism Updated: 2013

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:04:37 CST

The Minimalism Agenda has been an important contributor to best practices in information development since its origins in the work of John Carroll at IBM more than 30 years ago. It has influenced the development of many common practices among information-development professionals, including a focus on user tasks, user language, scenario-based design, comprehensive solutions content architecture, and just plain good writing. We continue to follow the important work done in the Netherlands by Hans van der Meij, the continuing contributions of Janice (Ginny) Redish, our colleague, and researchers who believe as we do that minimalism contributes significantly to high quality information best suited for users of all stages of use and in all disciplines. Hackos, JoAnn T.

Reclaiming Experience: the Aesthetic and Multimodal Composition

Mon, 13 May 2013 21:21:48 CST

Recent scholarship points to the rhetorical role of the aesthetic in multimodal composition and new media contexts. In this article, I examine the aesthetic as a rhetorical concept in writing studies and imagine the ways in which this concept can be useful to teachers of multimodal composition. My treatment of the concept begins with a return to the ancient Greek aisthetikos (relating to perception by the senses) in order to discuss the aesthetic as a meaningful mode of experience. I then review European conceptions of the aesthetic and finally draw from John Dewey and Bruno Latour to help shape this concept into a pragmatic and useful approach that can complement multimodal teaching and learning. The empirical approach I construct adds to an understanding of aesthetic experience with media in order to render more transparent the ways in which an audience creates knowledge—or takes and makes meaning—via the senses. Significantly, this approach to meaning making supports learning in digital environments where students are increasingly asked to both produce and consume media convergent texts that combine multiple modalities including sound, image, and user interaction. Knight, Aimée

If Not Me, Who? Encouraging Critical and Ethical Praxis in Technical Communication

Mon, 13 May 2013 10:39:18 CST

The ever-increasing complexity and pace of production only adds weight to the argument that the technical communicator of today must be technically competent, ethically bound, critically conscious and situated with enough institutional power to halt the wheels of production when necessary, putting the common good over institutional gain. The 21st century technical communicator must be elevated from mere scribe to negotiator. Hopton, Sarah Beth

Should the Market Dictate the Content of Specialized Translation Curricula?

Mon, 13 May 2013 10:37:27 CST

No one will deny that future translators should be well prepared to meet the expectations of their future employers. However, employers seem to believe that knowledge acquisition ends with graduation, and that translation curricula should train fully operational translators with specialized translation competence. If this were to be used as the guiding principle behind translation curriculum design, which area(s) of specialization should become the focus of translation curricula? Fiola, Marco

Seeing the Wood for the Trees: Reassessing Research Agendas in Specialized Translation

Mon, 13 May 2013 10:35:45 CST

There is a case for widening the scope of translation—and in- deed professional communication—to encompass the broader communication community as a whole because, ultimately, we are all concerned with communicating information effectively. Surely the relatively ancillary modalities of individual languages come a fairly distant second? Byrne, Jody

Mobile Medicine as Efficient and Effective Intercultural Health Communication Praxis

Mon, 13 May 2013 10:33:07 CST

The healthcare industry is just beginning to understand and implement mobile medicine praxis, and absolutely must explore further system-wide application. Utilizing mobile medicine effectively and efficiently over geographical distances and between a variety of cultures can establish and strengthen intercultural healthcare communication globally, educating clinicians via exposure to remote case studies, as well as educating patients with greater access to medical expertise. Brandt, Richard and Rich Rice

Five Models and a Challenge: Past, Present and Future of Translator Training Programs in Argentina

Mon, 13 May 2013 10:30:39 CST

Argentina has a long-standing tradition in translator training. This article has two purposes. On the one hand, it seeks to describe four translator training models prevailing in Argen- tinean universities, especially at Comahue, Córdoba, and La Plata universities. I will discuss the application of such models in relation to the students’ foreign-language training prior to and throughout their undergraduate education. On the other hand, I will present a new translator training model that aims to develop research skills in students, which might foster undergraduate education in research. Inés Arrizabalaga, María

International Technical Communication and Social Justice: Interrogating the International in International Technical Communication Discourse

Mon, 13 May 2013 10:27:57 CST

The field of technical communication needs a coherent body of methodological, research, and scholarly approaches that: are cognizant of local contexts and their histories; will reach out in more democratic and liberatory ways; and serve the needs of both designers and users. A good starting point is to (re)examine approaches and objectives of international technical communication, particularly in this age of post- modern globalization. Furthermore, we need to assess whether these objectives can help us meet the challenges of globalization. Doing these can provide more effective resources for training students, practitioners, and professionals for successful intercultural technical communication, beyond the instrumental angle of technical communication. Agboka, Godwin

International Professional Communication: Yesterday < Today > Tomorrow

Mon, 13 May 2013 10:24:26 CST

A key factor in this technological revolution in communication is that it connects—even at times merges—communication with knowledge. Professional communication is now inseparable from databases, and professional communicators, increasingly, are inseparable from programmers. Russell, David R.

Consuming Digital Rights: Mapping the Artifacts of Entertainment

Mon, 13 May 2013 08:24:09 CST

This article analyzes user experience issues surrounding authorized and unauthorized media distribution. Actor Network Theory is used to look specifically at instances involving digital rights management issues in the United States and Europe. The article describes how researchers and practitioners can trace these user experiences to learn how to empower rather than criminalize social media participants. Potts, Liza

Tweeting Disaster: Hashtag Constructions and Collisions

Mon, 13 May 2013 08:24:09 CST

In this paper, we describe the issues surrounding the use of various hashtags by Twitter users who are attempting to exchange information about recent natural disasters. During these disasters, hashtag usage was somewhat mired by inconsistent formats, spellings, and word ordering. This paper argues for systems that can help bridge this issue by creating participant-centered data streams that can collect and re-route these conversations. Potts, Liza, Joycde Seitzinger, Dave Jones and Angel Harrison

Writing, Visuals, and Wonderful Life with the Elements

Mon, 13 May 2013 10:19:31 CST

One of the most difficult writing tasks is to combine visuals with words. The difficulty goes beyond melding diagrams and flowcharts with your text, too. How about using visuals and words to present complex material? While it’s been done for decades, the results have varied from being quite effective to not quite hitting the mark. And if you’re not a very visual technical communicator, doing the job well can be challenge. To say the least. If you’re willing to take the time to learn how to effectively meld words and images, then you’ll want to give the book Wonderful Life with the Elements by Bunpei Yorifuji a look. Nesbitt, Scott

Information Wayfinding, Part 1: A Not-So-New Metaphor

Tue, 07 May 2013 08:24:09 CST

Browsing the Web. Surfing the Net. Navigating a Web site. Traversing a hierarchy. Going back. Scrolling up and down. Returning home. We’ve seen such metaphors throughout our history of using computers to interact with information. Haphazard though they may seem be, these metaphors highlight a universal reality of human psychology: we perceive the world—both physical and digital—in spatial terms. Tate, Tyler

Information Wayfinding, Part 2: Elements of the Information Environment

Tue, 07 May 2013 08:24:08 CST

In this article, I’ll scrutinize the nature of information environments by investigating their most fundamental elements. In doing so, my ambition is nothing less than to subtly reframe the way we think about interacting with information on Web sites, in mobile applications, and in other digital experiences. Tate, Tyler

Client-Centered Services

Tue, 07 May 2013 08:24:08 CST

As UX professionals, we practice user-centered design—which means we stay focused on users and their needs when designing a Web site, product, or service for a client. We may spend days, weeks, or sometimes even months surveying or interviewing users or conducting diary studies or focus groups. Often, we create personas to crystallize our understanding of users and their needs. Ultimately, a Web site exists for the sake of its users. If users are not able to find or comprehend the information or functionality that a client’s Web site provides, it won’t be useful to them. On the other hand, if we endeavor to consider the user’s perspective in making every design decision, we can help to ensure a meaningful and successful experience for the users of a client’s Web site. Bloom, Tal

Getting Your Web Site’s Structure Right

Tue, 07 May 2013 08:24:08 CST

Most people who create site structures are not trained practitioners of information architecture. Our natural human capacity to organize and relate things gives many people who aren’t IA professionals basic, but useful site structuring skills. But don’t be fooled. Creating and maintaining a site structure can be highly complex. Since complexity tends to increase in an active domain, know when to call in an expert such as an information architect. Davis, Nathaniel

Augmented Cognition: A Future for UX?

Tue, 07 May 2013 08:24:08 CST

Augmented cognition is about understanding the state of a user’s brain and using that understanding to manage the user’s interaction with a computer. For example, if a user were receiving too much information in image form to process it effectively, you might trigger an audio alert to ensure that he responds to another pressing matter. In this way, the user avoids becoming overloaded with information and is in a better position to act appropriately. Hornsby, Peter

Sharpening Up Your Soft Skills

Tue, 07 May 2013 08:24:08 CST

At some stage in your UX career, the focus of your professional improvement will likely switch from what you can produce as a UX strategist, designer, or researcher to how you produce it. Not only do you need to master hard skills such as how to articulate a UX vision, run a card sort, or wireframe for mobile rather than the desktop, you also need to negotiate with developers, facilitate prioritization workshops for teams, and sell design concepts to stakeholders. Soft skills, the interpersonal and behavioral skills that impact how you manage yourself and work with others, can make or break UX professionals and distinguish the brilliant from the respectable among us. Northrop, Mia

User Research Methods: Has-Beens and Stars

Mon, 13 May 2013 10:33:59 CST

Of all the user research methods that have emerged over last few decades, why did some catch on and become renowned, while others are still waiting for their big break or have declined from their previous glory to has-been status? By comparing the user research methods that never really caught on to those that have become popular, we can determine what it is that makes user research techniques valuable to UX professionals. Ross, Jim

Four Tips for a Great First-Use Experience

Tue, 07 May 2013 08:24:07 CST

It’s impossible to overrstate the importance of a great first-use experience of your product or service. No matter how amazing your product’s capabilities are, if using it feels like a struggle the first time users try your product, you’ll have a hard time wooing them back. Croce, Warren

Some Advice for Naming Your Files

Mon, 13 May 2013 10:19:07 CST

What’s in a name? A lot, especially if you don’t choose the right one for your files. It's not just about choosing names for characters or choosing titles. It's something a little more fundamental. It's about about those word processor and text files, into which you tap your words? You’d be surprised, but many writers (and others) don’t give their work descriptive and worthwhile names. Nesbitt, Scott

Do Short Topics Make Information More Findable?

Mon, 06 May 2013 08:24:07 CST

Shorter topics do add more little targets in the field. So the user has a higher chance of hitting one of the targets, but it’s unlikely that any of the targets will provide the exact answer the user is looking for. Johnson, Tom H.