Why do Technical Authors only use two of the three qualities of good design? Vitruvius, the Roman architect, claimed a structure must exhibit the three qualities of firmitas, utilitas and venustas: it must be solid, useful and beautiful. Paul Mijksenaar, a modern day Information Designer, turned these qualities into a practical three-point formula: Reliability, Utility and… Read more »
Tag: usability
Creating more engaged users
As part of my prep for my presentation on user documentation as a more emotional experience for the user, I revisited this presentation by Kathy Sierra. This hasn’t ‘made the cut’ into my presentation due to lack of time, so I thought I’d post it here.
3 strategic ways to reduce the number of support calls
The cost of providing support to users can be huge, so what can be done to reduce the number and duration of support calls? Here are three strategies to consider. 1.Pre-empt the calls In same way that Japanese car companies improved the quality of their products to reduce the after-sales costs, you can take steps,… Read more »
Understanding how people learn – the Affective Context Model
Nick Shackleton-Jones, Manager of Online & Informal Learning at the BBC, has created a video explaining the Affective Context Model and what it means for learning. He talks about how emotion plays a part in the way we learn. This provides me with an opportunity to highlight my presentation at the TCUK conference, “Documentation as… Read more »
How the curse of the jilted Technical Author hit Google
Beware the software developer who releases software without adequate user assistance (in plain English: user guides and online Help) for “The curse of the jilted Technical Author” may strike your product. This curse has just hit Google, who last week announced the demise of Google Wave. Google released Google Wave without any online Help or… Read more »