pradeep henry: cognizant usability lab information design for product usability by french artist...

Pradeep Henry: Cognizant Usability Lab

Informationdesign for productusability

by French artist Jacques Carelman


Traditional

approaches to

technical writing.

XXX


• Goal: “document the software”

• You try to write everything about the software

• Advantage:

Information users need or expect is available

• Disadvantage:

Retrieving and understanding the info will be hard

Product-centered approach


• Goal: “write well”

• You focus on:

• rhetoric, style, grammar, spelling, punctuation, typography

• word-processing, copy-editing, printing, binding

• Advantage:

The manual is strong in these areas

• Disadvantage:

Does not ensure better user experience with s/w

Writer-centered approach


• Goal: “develop usable manuals”

• You treat information as a separate, independent entity

• Advantage:

Each info element is “usable”

• Disadvantage:

Inconsistent/uncooperative with each other and with user interface

Document-centered approach


What is

product

usability.?


Software quality factors

CAPABILITY

RELIABILITY

USABILITY

PERFORMANCE

SUPPORTABILITY


Usability is ...

• Concern in the design of any product used by humans

• Critical concern for software

• Ignored by most Indian software companies

Ease Speed Pleasant-ness


Bottom-line

• Users are:

• Less productive

• Commit more errors

• Overall dissatisfied with software

• Overall quality of software is MEDIOCRE

• Business benefits are missed by user organization

• Business benefits are missed by YOUR organization

What happens when usability is ignored?


• Architecture

• Dialog design

• Screen content & organization

• Screen visual design

Things that impact usability

• Labels

• Messages

• Online documentation

• Printed documentation}Information

is a

software usability

determinant


WHICH APPROACH HELPS?

If information is a product usability determinant, ...


• Your approach should be:

USER-centered

• Your goal should be:

Design information elements to improve s/w usability

So ...


User-Centered Information Design (UCID)

• Integrated approach to designing ALL information elements

• Such that each element contributes to product’s ease-of-use


UCID: key concept 1

SOFTWARE USABILITY IS ALWAYS THE GOAL

• Primary purpose of information:

Improve software usability

• Your ultimate goal for every info element:

Improve software usability


UCID: key concept 2

TECH WRITERS DESIGN all THE INFO COMPOS

• Traditionally, only online doc and printed doc

• Now, labels and messages too

• Required skill set is largely the same

• So, UCID extends tech writer’s ROLE


UCID: key concept 3

INTEGRATION IS MANDATORY

• Traditionally, each info compo is developed ...

• By a different group

• At a different time

• Problems:

• Inconsistent info

• Missing info

• Useless info

• Repetition


UCID: key concept 3 Continued ...

INTEGRATION IS MANDATORY

• Integration packs into each info element just the info users would need/expect from that element

• So that all elements contribute to improved software usability


UCID

success

story

Cognizant

Usability

Lab


UCID at Cognizant Technology Solutions

• Cognizant Usability Lab

• Usability engineering is integrated into software process

• Dedicated resources

• UCID is happening here

• Info design is integrated into the usability process

• Dedicated resources

Works well for the benefit of users, organization, tech writers


Thank you.

Change

your GOAL,

Extend

your ROLE

Pradeep Henry

[email protected]@tech-bridge.com

www.tech-bridge.com

pradeep henry: cognizant usability lab information design for product usability by french artist...

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