1. Analyzing Your Users ITSW 1410 Presentation Media Software Instructor: Glenda H. Easter

2. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 22 Problems Encountered If You Don’t Know Your Audience § Anger at complexity § Wary of over simplification § Puzzled by assumptions you make § Frustrated

3. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 23 Analyze Users and Choose Your Audience Carefully §The user analysis makes up the basic research phase of the documentation process; therefore, choose users carefully. §Ask yourself which users would most probably use the program and which users can be interviewed easiest? §You need to find the most typical users or the ones who represent the most probable intended users of the program.

4. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 24 Locate Sources of Information About Your Audience §Who will read what you write? Your answers will suggest an appropriate structure and style for your writing. l Actual Users Respect the inarticulateness of users -- watch what they do. Observe what users do and ask them to describe what they do. The most relevant experts are the people who will actually use the product you’re writing about.

5. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 25 Locate Sources of Information About Your Audience §Who will read what you write? (Continued) l Intermediaries -- Most of what you learn about your audience comes from the second- best source of information: Talk to those who support the system. Talk to trainers and those who develop training material. People who sell the product to customers or People who help them solve their problems or troubleshooters.

6. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 26 Locate Sources of Information About Your Audience l Talk to those who talk to customers. Talk with customer support staff Talk with technical support engineers or those who spend a great deal of time troubleshooting things that don’t work correctly. l Talk to trainers and the people who develop the training materials: They tend to home in on a meaningful sequence of ideas similar to what you may need to present in a tutorial or general overview.

7. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 27 Locate Sources of Information About Your Audience l Find Ways to Learn What Users Think: Focus groups Trade shows Field visits Users group Product newsletter

8. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 28 Locate Sources of Information About Your Audience l Become a User Yourself: This is a must for your projects. If the product is far enough along in development, use it regularly. If you’re writing about a product that you can’t use regularly or don’t have a personal need for, be sure to test it thoroughly anyway. You should have a clear enough understanding of your audience to be able to use the product the way they do.

9. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 29 Guidelines for Conducting a User Analysis §Study Non-Computer-Mediated Tasks l In analyzing job duties, you should describe the non- automated situation, meaning those things the user does without your program. l Study the attitudes your users have towards use of the computer and your program development. §Mock Up Hard-to-Contact Users l If you do not have actual users available, create a mock-up or a model to used a resource in making design decisions.

10. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 210 Guidelines for Conducting a User Analysis (Continued) §You may wish to write user scenarios. l You can use a scenario in a documentation plan. l A scenario describes how the program is used. §Plan interviews carefully l You obtain your research through good interviews. l You encounter potential users.

11. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 211 Interviewing or Creating a User Analysis §Not all documentation projects require the same kinds of questions of users. §Take the time to gather everything you’ve learned into a profile you can use as a tool when you write the actual documentation. §If you plan to interview, plan how to carry out the interview to obtain the most information possible.

12. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 212 How to Conduct an Interview or Create a User Analysis §Know Your Users l Gather as much background information on your audience as possible. §Know Your Program l This maybe accomplished through the development of your task list or knowledge of the software you’re writing about.

13. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 213 How to Conduct an Interview or Create a User Analysis §Get Authorization l Make sure an employer does not object to your asking the user questions. §Write and Listen a Lot l Record responses either through tape or pencil and paper. l Do not be the one who talks all the time. Your goal is to listen and record.

14. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 214 How to Conduct an Interview or Create a User Analysis §Collect Samples l If the user can provide actual samples of the work, you can provide relevant examples in your manual or use them in scenarios. §How to Observe l You may wish to observe users performing their jobs and recording the sequence of tasks, and also taking in the atmosphere of the workplace.

15. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 215 How to Write a Questionnaire §A questionnaire enables you to get information from a variety of users. l It allows you to get unique responses from a variety of users. l It increases your chances of getting a unique and very valuable piece of information. l It shows a reliable pattern of use. ? ? ?

16. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 216 How to Write a Questionnaire §Carefully word your questionnaire that ask yes/no or multiple choice questions. §Guidelines for writing a good questionnaire : l Try sample questions on a few people to see if it is a good questionnaire. l Provide clear instructions and leave enough room to provide complete answers.

17. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 217 How to Write a Questionnaire §Guidelines for writing a good questionnaire (Continued): l Focus on the topic, but leave the questions unstructured. l Phrase questions in a positive nature. l You may want to include sample passages.

18. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 218 Identify Document Goals §Develop goals to keep you on track and something by which you can measure performance. §The goals of all software documentation: l To encourage users to learn features of the program and to put those features to work. l Goals should state how you will provide users with the necessary knowledge for a particular set of users and one particular program.

19. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 219 Tie the User Analysis to Document Features §You should base all your decisions on the user task needs that you discover in your user analysis. §The user analysis allows you to determine what tasks the user needs to perform with the software. §Your user analysis will provide you with examples to use in your tutorials, but the user analysis does not apply strictly to the level of the task support. It applies to all levels of task support--tutorial, guidance and reference.

20. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 220 Things to Ask Your Users §What tasks will the user perform? §What are the user’s informational needs? l What information does the user need? l How does the user communicate? l What work motivations affect the software user? §What are the user’s work motivations? §What’s the user’s range of computer experience: novice, experienced, expert?

21. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 221 Things to Ask Your Users (Continued) §How much does the user know of the subject matter of the program? §What’s the user’s workplace environment: (organizational structure)? §What is the user’s preferred learning method (instructor/manual/online)? §What is the user’s usage pattern (learning curve regular, casual, intermittent)?

22. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 222 Getting to Know Your User §You need to determine the direction of information flow: Vertical or horizontally? §Where does information come from? Personal experience, trade magazine reports, information about research. §In what form does the information come to the user? §How does the user communicate? Information tasks (storing and sharing work in progress) or communication tasks which requires sharing of finished work.

23. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 223 The User’s Work Motivations §Building on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, we can look at those factors that motivate professional users. §People respond to different types of motivation. We refer to these motivations as needs. §People not only have multiple needs, but these needs fall into categories depending on their importance.

24. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 224 The User’s Work Motivations (Continued) §Some motivations, specific to the work environment, called work motivations come from two sources (internal and external motivation). They include such things as: l Achievement l The use of one’s abilities l One’s desire for status. §Motivation by these needs relates directly to the idea of task orientation; the concept of task orientation means that the person operates out of his or her individual job initiative.

25. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 225 The User’s Work Motivations (Continued) §Internal motivation that affects software users is derived primarily from the individual’s personality, personal background, and training. §External motivations that affect software users come from the employee’s environment. l It results from the kind of job situation in which a person works. l Other motivation relate to how one sees the work environment.

26. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 226 Range of Computer Experience: Novice, Experienced, Expert §The range of computer experience they have, coupled with their strategic uses of the program determine, in part, the level of task support they require. §Anxiety affects a user’s performance. The more experienced the user, the less likely the user will feel computer anxiety.

27. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 227 Range of Computer Experience: Novice, Experienced, Expert §Experience with computers creates a pattern of knowledge that helps users transfer their knowledge from past experience to current experiences. §Users with very little computer experience tend to take more time to learn functions and their learning curve remains gradual.

28. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 228 Determine Their Levels and Types of Expertise l Are they New or Beginner in the following: Their work, the job they do Doing a particular task Using computers Using the kind of product you’re writing about Using the specific product you’re writing about.

29. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 229 Determine Their Levels and Types of Expertise (Continued) l Are they Intermediate in the following: Their work, the job they do Doing a particular task Using computers Using the kind of product you’re writing about Using the specific product you’re writing about.

30. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 230 Determine Their Levels and Types of Expertise (Continued) l Are they Expert Users in the following: Their work, the job they do Doing a particular task Using computers Using the kind of product you’re writing about Using the specific product you’re writing about.

31. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 231 Describe the Characteristics of Your Audience (Continued) l Are different cultures groups represented in your audience? What percentage reads English easily? Should there be a simplified vocabulary? How do people in these cultures normally expect to learn? §Determine their levels and types of expertise l New, Intermediate, or Expert

32. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 232 What Users Need in a Documentation Manual § Novice (Beginning) Users l Need a mental picture that helps construct a workable mental model that connects the task domain with the product. l They need to understand the sequence of major tasks. l They need to recognize where their job fits in. l They need a way to learn key concepts and basic tasks.

33. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 233 What Users Need in a Documentation Manual (Continued) § Occasional Users l Need to know a product to do some real work. l Since they don’t use it much, they tend to forget commands. l They do not want to know much about the software. l They just want to be able to look up a particular task and do it.

34. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 234 What Users Need in a Documentation Manual (Continued) §Intermediate Users l Want to look up step-by-step procedures with which they’re not familiar. l They flip through a tutorial as an introduction and then use documentation for quick look-ups. l They like conceptual overviews of how the product performs similar work. l They want a section comparing your product with the competition in terms of tasks.

35. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 235 What Users Need in a Documentation Manual (Continued) §Advanced Users l They want to look up step-by-step procedures on tasks they haven’t done recently or have never done. l They want a quick reference card as a reminder of specific steps or parameters. l They need advanced advice.

36. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 236 Characteristics of User Types

37. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 237 What Goes in Your User Analysis? §What to put into your user analysis l Obtain the General Characteristics of Your Audience: Who is your audience Their title to identify them Their role in the work context Levels of experience

38. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 238 Creating a User’s Analysis (Continued) l Key Concepts and Subjects to Discuss Subjects that some people in your audience need to know more about in order to make a meaningful choice as they use the product. You may need to expand on those topics in your general introduction, emphasize them in your tutorial, and define them in your glossary. These concepts and ideas usually revolve around the ideas embedded in the software or hardware. –Accomplisher? –Good for? –Good for Ease and User? –Features?

39. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 239 Creating a User’s Analysis (Continued) l Tasks The jobs people do, both easy and difficult, frequent or infrequently. This list will translate more or less directly into the procedures or the step-by-step instructions for accomplishing those tasks. You create a task or validation list. –Item coveredFrequency of Use Difficulty Factor

40. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 240 Creating a User’s Analysis (Continued) l The problems people face in using the product in their work Problems with the Product Questions they ask about the product. The troubles you uncover will go directly into the troubleshooting section. It will also help you take a diagnostic approach, steering people out of trouble at key moments.

41. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 241 Describe the Characteristics of Your Audience §Their backgrounds and contexts l How educated are the users? l What role does the product play in their work and are they learning this product of their own free will or are they being forced to do so? l Are they the individual who makes a decision to purchase? l Are they purchasing the product willingly, or is it being forced on them? l Are they afraid of computers? Are they resistant to the product? – Are different cultures groups represented in your audience? » What percentage reads English easily? » Should there be a simplified vocabulary? » How do people in these cultures normally expect to learn? 2.Their levels and types of expertise: » New » Intermediate » Expert Users – Determine the levels of expertise: » Are they New or Beginner in the following: » Their work, the job they do » Doing a particular task » Using computers » Using the kind of product you’re writing about » Using the particular product you’re writing about. » Are they Intermediate in the following: » Their work, the job they do » Doing a particular task » Using computers » Using the kind of product you’re writing about » Using the particular product you’re writing about. » Are they Expert Users in the following: » Their work, the job they do » Doing a particular task » Using computers » Using the kind of product you’re writing about » Using the particular product you’re writing about. 3.You may want to create an audience/experience matrix, such as that shown on pages 35-36. 4.What users need in a documentation manual: – Novice (Beginning) users: » Need a mental picture that helps construct a workable mental model that connects the task domain with the product. » They need to understand the sequence of major tasks. » They need to recognize where their job fits in. » They need a way to learn key concepts and basic tasks. – Occasional Users: » Need to know a product to do some real work. » Since they don’t use it much, they tend to forget commands. » They do not want to know much about the software. » They just want to be able to look up a particular task and do it. – Intermediate users: » Want to look up step-by-step procedures with which they’re not familiar. » They flip through a tutorial as an introduction and then use documentation for quick look-ups. » They like conceptual overviews of how the product performs similar work. » They want a section comparing your product with the competition in terms of tasks. – Advanced Users: » They want to look up step-by-step procedures on tasks they haven’t done recently or have never done. » They want a quick reference card as a reminder of specific steps or parameters. » They need advanced advice. F.Decide what key concepts your audience needs to understand: 1Determine what the individual needs to make the best use of the product. 2.What is the product good for each user? 3.What can the user accomplish with the product? 4.Are there ways to use the product that make a user’s job easier, more productive? 5.Which features deserve special note? 6.There may be certain topics that you won’t address because they aren’t important to your audience. G.List Tasks Your Audience Must Do: 1.You need to understand theses tasks from the point of view of the customers, as part of their job rather than as examples of “use of the product.” 2.The more you understand these tasks--as the customer sees them--the more easily you can explain how to use your product to accomplish work, rather than how to exercise various neat features. 3.Record every task you discover: – Compile a list including everything that occurs to you or your informants. – You may have to include some housekeeping – Recognize that the software may offer a chance to reach new goals and accomplish new tasks.

42. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 242 Key Concepts §Decide what key concepts your audience needs to understand l Determine what the individual needs to make the best use of the product. l What is the product good for each user? l What can the user accomplish with the product? l Are there ways to use the product that make a user’s job easier, more productive? l Which features deserve special note? l There may be certain topics that you won’t address because they aren’t important to your audience.

43. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 243 User’s Learning Preferences §Learning Preferences means the way your users like to accumulate expertise in working with software. §Software learning falls roughly into three categories: l Learning with an instructor l Learning with a manual l Learning through a computer

44. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 244 User’s Learning Preferences (Continued) §Learning from an instructor is the preferred method of learning from novice users. §Learning from a manual is preferred by experienced and expert users l This method involves the user having some form, usually called a tutorial containing lessons oriented toward learning and applying program features.

45. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 245 User’s Learning Preferences (Continued) §Manual-based learning takes three basic forms: l Tutorials created to teach a specific set of lessons. l User’s guide which are sets of procedures organized in various ways: Alphabetical to task sequenced Reference documentation, lists and explanations of commands.

46. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 246 Usage Patterns: Regular, Casual, and Intermittent §Usage pattern refers to the interaction of users with programs over time. §Your user analysis should include some investigation of the usage pattern you expect with your software. §There are usually three main types of usage patterns: l regular usage l intermittent usage l casual usage

47. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 247 Usage Patterns: Regular, Casual, and Intermittent (Continued) §Regular Usage: l This is the pattern a user would follow in using the program daily. l This pattern assumes incremental learning, meaning that a user learns some features before others. §Intermittent Usage: l This refers to usage by persons who know the software well enough to perform basic tasks but do not use the program as the primary software in their work.

48. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 248 Usage Patterns: Regular, Casual, and Intermittent (Continued) §Intermittent Users: l They make more mistakes than regular users. l Intermittent usage requires online help. §Casual Usage: l This refers to usage by persons with little or no formal training with software system. l They need to use the software immediately. l They have no learning curve because they never worked on the system.

49. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 249 Tasks the User Will Perform §The most important part of writing good documentation is identifying user tasks. §The tasks form the significant unit of information in your manual or help system. §Begin your identification of users at the level of job titles. §User-tasks form the basis of your task- oriented information product.

50. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 250 List Tasks Your Audience Must Do §You need to understand theses tasks from the point of view of the customers, as part of their job rather than as examples of “use of the product.” §The more you understand these tasks--as the customer sees them--the more easily you can explain how to use your product to accomplish work, rather than how to exercise various neat features.

51. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 251 List Tasks Your Audience Must Do (Continued) §Record every task you discover l Compile a list including everything that occurs to you or your informants. l You may have to include some housekeeping l Recognize that the software may offer a chance to reach new goals and accomplish new tasks.

52. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 252 Analyze the Tough Tasks §There may be a task that is hard to understand and difficult for a user to explain. §When this occurs, it’s time to do a tasks analysis. §When you’re not sure of the nature of a task, analyze these aspects.

53. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 253 Analyze the Tough Tasks (Continued) §This list will translate more or less directly into the procedures or the step-by-step instructions for accomplishing those tasks. §When you’re not sure about the nature of a task, analyze these aspects: l The situation: What are the circumstances that a person has to perform a certain tasks? l Name of Task: What does the customer call the task?

54. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 254 Analyze the Tough Tasks (Continued) §Analyze these aspects (Continued): l Decision: You want to know the scale of the task, the frequency with which it is performed, its part in a sequence or stage. l Objects: What is being handled? l Characteristics: What characterizes this task? (Use example of capitalizing a sentence and a period at the end--makes a sentence.) l Steps: List the order of the steps or tasks. l Results: Has the task been successfully carried out?

55. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 255 Group the Tasks According to Their Scale §Some tasks may be grouped together if they are done on a: l Small Scale Task l Mid-Scale Task l Large-Scale Task

56. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 256 Arrange Tasks In a Meaningful Sequence §The best way to present tasks is in the order customers feel most familiar with or can recognize quickly. §It is generally, people do one task and then another, so start by organizing chronologically.

57. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 257 Arrange Tasks In a Meaningful Sequence (Continued) §Chronological Order: Arrange the tasks in the order they are done. §Familiar Order: Go from the known to the unknown. Start with tasks that are most common and familiar and move to the most unusual and foreign. You may want to use this type of ordering when the tasks can be done in any sequence.

58. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 258 Arrange Tasks In a Meaningful Sequence (Continued) §Simple to Complex: Start with the easiest and move to the most complex. §One to Many: When you think people will find all the tasks unfamiliar, and time sequence isn’t relevant, you might order takes in a sequence that’s likely to represent an increase in complexity. §Similar Objects: Group tasks with the same type of object--i.e. adding bold, adding underline, adding italic.

59. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 259 Consider Potential Problems and Solutions §Ask what problems have occurred in the past. §Listen to the users, because if enough of them have the same problem, you may need to set up a clear step for solving the problem.

60. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 260 Consider Potential Problems and Solutions (Continued) §Here are some questions to use in anatomizing customer queries: l What is the customer’s stated objective? l Do customers know where to begin? l Have they made a move that the software considers an error? l Is the structure of the software unclear to them? l Can they tell what to do next? l Can they tell how to stop?

61. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 261 Draw Some Conclusions §Don’t make broad generalizations about the audience. §Show the analysis and the conclusions that you can draw from your information.

62. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 262 Revise Your User Analysis §Your user analysis contains: l General characteristics of the audience. l A summary of the ideas they need to learn, or key concepts when using the product for the first time. l A list of the tasks they’ll use the product for. l A list of potential problems they’ll encounter. l A summary of the way in which you’ll shape your documentation for these groups.

63. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 263 Revise Your User Analysis (Continued) §Your first draft of the user analysis will not contain full details in any of these areas, but hand it in quickly to your team for their input. You can revise the profile with team input.

64. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 264 Production Phase §Conduct user analysis or user analysis. §Create the program task list. §Design the documents. §Write the project plan. §Write the alpha draft. §Conduct reviews and tests. §Revise and edit. §Write a final draft. §Conduct a field evaluation.

65. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 265 Checklist §Your completed user analysis should include these sections: l Characteristics: Background and education Job Title Role of the product Levels and types of expertise (a novice in one area may be an expert in another.)

66. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 266 Checklist (Continued) l Key Concepts: What users can accomplish with the product. How the product makes work easier and better Features needing emphasis, advertising. l Task List: Grouped by scale Arranged in a meaningful sequence

67. Analyzing Your Users, Chapter 267 Checklist (Continued) l Problems and Solutions: Problems with earlier versions of the product Suggestions for improvements l Conclusions: How this analysis will affect the documentation.