This week I needed to create some visuals for a PowerPoint to illustrate concepts related to blogging. Since I have limited artistic ability (perhaps even negative artistic ability), I resorted to a stick figure person as a common theme. I spent a while trying to decide which tool to use to draw with. It turns out drawing a basic circle in Photoshop that doesn’t have … more »

How Embedded User Assistance Impacts Documentation

Documentation as a Tool for User Centered Design

Recording of Similar David Pogue Keynote Found | STC WDC Blog.

UX Watercooler – A professional meeting space for those interested in user experience design.

Form and function by Communications from DMN.

Living Documentation: The Future of Technical Writing | PoeWar.

Documentation Usability: A Few Things I’ve Learned from Watching Users | I’d Rather Be Writing – Tom Johnson.

I received another question from John from Delaware. It was actually in his other e-mail, but I neglected to address it because I don’t usually spend so much time answering readers’ questions. This one, however, addresses a topic I’m presenting on in a usability progression at the upcoming STC Summit in Atlanta. Concerned about the field of technical writing, John writes, People don’t read manuals … more »

[Audio clip: view full post to listen] Download MP3 (to download, right-click and select Save Target As) Length: 43 min. In this podcast, I talk with Ricardo Amigo, a translator and podcaster in Mexico City and Costa Rica, about the field of technical writing. This podcast is more of a reverse interview. Instead of me asking the questions, Ricardo interviews me. The general topic is … more »

Sometimes the audience for my help consists of seniors in the range of 60 to 85 years old. The other night I attended an orientation session with users to introduce them to a new application we were releasing. As part of the orientation, I observed first-hand the challenges that seniors have with computers. Here are a few user interface problems:

The other day I came home to find Jane rather frustrated at the computer. She’d just ordered $40 worth of books from Half.com, but realized — two weeks after completing the order — that they were sent to an old email address with an unknown shipping address. The half.com address was apparently a Windows Live ID, but she couldn’t remember any login information about it, … more »

The last podcast I recorded, on “Make Your Help Indispensable, Safeguard Your Job,” with Mike Hughes, was so full of good information about how to make your help more valuable and user-friendly that I couldn’t help but write up notes on it. Here’s a list of the ten things I learned from my last podcast: 1. Make your help a mile wide and thirty seconds … more »

A friend of mine sent me a video that provides instructions for converting your TV signal from analog to digital.

One Man Writes: Revisiting the basics Gordon McLean reminds us of the importance of putting users first.