audience analysis & user-centered writing

Audience Analysis & User-Centered Writing

Week 2

Technical Communication, DAHMEN

Who uses Tech Com?

Readers—reading manuals, job aids, reports Users—attempting to use equipment, software,

machines Viewers—requiring visual aids to understand

processes, products and steps Listeners—listening while performing tasks, learning

new information through presentations Executives—making decisions Technicians—individuals who operate/repair

equipment Experts—who communicate with each other

Describing a Discourse Community

« a group of people who share certain language-using practices…the key term ‘discourse’ suggests a communicty bound together primarily by its uses of language, alothough bound perhaps by by other ties as well, geographical, socioeconomic, ethnic, professional and so on »

--Bizzell, 1992, P. 222 in Gurak and Lannon, 2004 p.15

How do end-users differ?

Expertise Knowledge Age Culture Language Role in organization External or internal audiences

Some Typical Audiences

Scientists Engineers Administrators Managers Lawyers Users ‘the Public’

What is their Purpose in reading? To gain information To make a decision To learn how to perform a task

What information will help us gear our product to the appropriate user?By exploring and researching… Previous knowledge Receptivity towards subject Interest in subject Attitudes towards topic Attitudes towards your organization

Primary vs. Secondary…

Purposes Primary—first use of communication (teach a new

hardware system, promotional vs. informational) Secondary—broader applications (use as template for

other hardware systems, promotion, credibility, image) Audiences

Primary—target audience for product (users of product at AT&T, doctors prescribing a medicine)

Secondary—potential audiences (users at other companies for similar product, patients)

Why do we care about Primary/Secondary Purposes and/or Audiences? Market product to wider audience Save time in future production Save money in future editing Make a more user-centered product with

broad appeal

How can learning about the audience effect our output? Format Media Language Word choice or style Use of examples Length Genre of document

How do we learn about our audiences? Interviews Observation Questionnaires Subject Matter Experts Personal experience Previous feedback Cultural background Research Examining similar communication products

Methods of Gathering Information about your Audience Research

Interviews Questionnaires Focus Groups

Interviews¹

Set of questions/’protocols’ Conducted in person, via telephone, email (or

IM) Can be anonymous or no Can have varied question types (open ended

best) Can vary in length, usually 30 min

¹”Needs Analysis Tools.” Center for Education Integrating Science, Math and Computing. Georgia Int. of Tech. July 30, 2003. Sept. 04, 2003. <http://mime1.marc.gatech.edu/MM_Tools/NADA.html#interview>

Interviews

Good with complex/unclear topic

Are relatively brief Can be altered

easily Can help create

empathy to purpose

CONSPROS Can be seen as

threatening May answer to

‘please’ you Questions may be

biased Hard to schedule

Questionnaires

Paper or web presentation of questions Can be anonymous Mailed or web based or emailed Variety of questions possible Can vary in length Should take no more than 10-15 min. to do

Questionnaires

Good when anonymity is needed

Efficient for respondents if short

Can adapt to different audiences

Many types of questions possible

CONSPROS Easy to design but

hard to perfect Lots of time to

distribute, collect and analyze

Not very flexible Low response rate

Focus Groups

Set of questions asked to small group of people

Usually done in person, possible over phone or videophone

4-7 people optimal Can be anonymous Can vary in length, usually less than 1 hour

Focus Groups

Good with complex/unclear topic

May be good with controversial topic for reaching consensus

Questions can be open or defined

Can help create empathy to purpose

CONSPROS Time consuming

to set up and conduct

If range of status, some reluctance or resistance

Questions may be biased

Hard to schedule

Checklist for Audience Analysis¹1. Have I determined my explicit (primary) purpose

for my product? To inform, provide basis for decision, instruct

2. Have I identified my readers? Experts, technicians, executives, novices, mixed

3. Have I determined their purpose in receiving the product?

4. Have I determined how much they know about the subject?

5. Have I determined what they need to know?6. Do I know their level of interest?7. What is their attitude towards the product or my

organization?

¹ Adapted from: D. Pattow & W. Wresch. Communicating Technical Information. (NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998) 53.

How can we adapt our product to our audience?¹ Add information readers need to understand your

document. Omit information your readers do not need. Change the level of the information you currently

have. Add examples to help readers understand. Change the level of your examples. Change the organization of your information.

¹McMurray, David. ‘Audience Analysis’. Online Technical Writing. 1 September 2003, <http://www.io.com/~hcexres/tcm1603/acchtml/aud.html>

Audience Adaptation, cont…

Strengthen transitions. Write stronger introductions--both for the

whole document and for major sections. Create topic sentences for paragraphs and

paragraph groups. Change sentence style and length. Work on sentence clarity and economy. Use more or different graphics.

Audience Adaptation, cont.

Break text up or consolidate text into meaningful, usable chunks.

Add cross-references to important information.

Use headings and lists. Use special typography, and work with

margins, line length, line spacing, type size, and type style.

Learn More online…

http://www.io.com/~hcexres/tcm1603/acchtml/aud.html (Online Tech Com textbook)

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/hypertext/reportW/audience.html (OWL at Purdue University)

http://www.fgcu.edu/onlinedesign/designDev.html (Principles on Online Design, Florida Gulf Coast University, application to Computers

http://www.stedwards.edu/hum/drummond/staa.html (Audience Analysis form from Dr. Laurie Drummond)

More Online resources and examples… http://www.cs.wpi.edu/~kal/netpub/NPaudienceanaly

sis.html (geared towards writing for online documentation)

http://www.fns.usda.gov/oane/MENU/Published/nutritioneducation/Files/esaa.pdf (sample report of audience analysis for US Government about nutrition for youth)

http://www.fgcu.edu/onlinedesign/designDev.html

(The Health Communication Unit, application to health issues)

Audience Analysis AssignmentIn groups of 2, address the following situation: an increasing number of first-year students are dropping out of your major because of low-grades, stress or inability to keep up with the work. Your task is to prepare a « survival guide » for incoming students. You need to create an audience analysis worksheet and summary following the questions and sections outlined in the handout given to you in class and also available at:

http://www.stedwards.edu/hum/drummond/staa.html

(adapted from assignment in Gurak and Lannon 2004, p. 29