Evaluating and improving the usability of a user manual

Behaviour and Information Technology

Volumn 16, Issue 1, 1997, Pages 43-57

  Allwood, Carl Martin ^a   Kalén, Tomas ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG   (Sweden)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

COMPUTER SOFTWARE; COMPUTERS; HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION; HUMAN ENGINEERING; MANAGEMENT; PATIENT MONITORING;

PATIENT ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM; USABILITY; USER MANUAL; USER TESTING;

HANDBOOKS;

EID: 0030836081     PISSN: 0144929X     EISSN: 13623001     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/014492997120002     Document Type: Article

References (61)

1. Allwood, C. M. 1990, Computer usage by novices. In A. Kent and J. G. Williams (eds), Encyclopedia of micro-computers (Marcel Dekker Inc), (New York) 37-56.
2. Allwood, C. M. 1991, MUnniska-datorinteraktion. Ett psyko-logiskt perspektiv (Human-computer interaction. A psychological perspective) (Studentlitteratur, Lund).
3. Allwood, C. M. and Eliasson, M. 1987, Analogy and other sources of difficulty in novices’ very first text-editing. International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 27, 1-22.
4. Allwood, C. M. and Eliasson, M. 1988, Question asking when learning a text-editing system. International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 29, 63-79.
5. Allwood, C. M. and Kalen, T. 1993a, User-competence and other usability aspects when introducing a patient administrative system: a case study. Interacting with Computers, 2, 167-191.
6. Allwood, C. M. and Kalen, T. 1993b, Using a patient administrative system: a performance evaluation after enduser training. Computers in Human Behavior, 9, 137-156.
7. Allwood, C.M. and Wikstrom, T. 1986, Learning complex computer programs. Behaviour & Information Technology, 5, 217-225.
8. Bjornsson, C. H. 1968, Lasbarhet (Readability) (Liber; Stockholm).
9. Brockmann, R. J. 1990, The why, where, and how of minimalism. SIGDOC Asterisk, 4, 111-119.
10. Brockmann, R. J. 1991, Writing Better Computer User Documentation: From Paper to Online (Wiley & Sons, New York) (2nd ed).
11. Carroll, J. M. 1990, The Nurnberg Funnel: Designing Minimalist Instructions for Practical Computer Skill (Bradford Books, The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA).
12. Carroll, J. M. 1993, Techniques for minimalist documentation and user interface design. IBM Research Report RC 19038 (IBM Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, NY).
13. Carroll, J. M. and Rosson, M. B. 1988, Paradox of the active user. In J. M. Carroll (ed), Interfacing Thought. Cognitive Aspects of Human-Computer Interaction (The MIT Press, Cambridge MA), 80-111.
14. Carroll, J. M., Smith-Kerker, P. L., Ford, J. R. and Mazur-Rimetz, S. A. 1987-1988, The minimal manual. Human-Computer Interaction, 3, 123-153.
15. Charney, D.H., Reder, L. M. and Kusbit, G. W. 1990, Goal setting and procedure selection in acquiring computer skills: a comparison of tutorials, problem solving and learner exploration. Cognition and Instruction, 7, 323-342.
16. Charney, D., Reder, L. and Wells, G. 1988, Studies of elaborations in instructional texts. In S. Doheny-Farina (ed), Effective Documentation. What We Have Learned from Research (The MIT Press, Cambridge MA), 47-72.
17. Cuomo, D. L. and Bowen, C. D. 1994, Understanding usability issues addressed by three user-system interface evaluation techniques. Interacting with Computers, 1, 86-108.
18. Desurvire, H. W., Kondziela, J. M. and Atwood, M. E. 1992, what is gained and what is lost when using evaluation methods other than empirical testing? In A. Monk, D. Diaper and M. D. Harrison (eds), People and Computers VII (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK), 89-112.
19. D ieli, M. 1989, The usability process: Working with iterative design principles. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 4, 272-278.
20. Draper, S. and Oatley, K. 1992, Action centered manuals of minimalist instruction? Alternative theories for Carroll’s minimal manual. In P. O’Brian Holt and N. Williams (eds), Computers and Writing State of the Art (Intellect Books, Oxford, UK), 222-243.
21. Duffy, T. M. 1985, Readability formulas: What’s the use? In T. M. Duffy and R. M. Waller (eds.), Designing Usable Texts (Academic Press, New York), 113-143.
22. Ericson, K. A. and Simon, H. A. 1980, Verbal reports as data. Psychological Review, 87, 215-251.
23. Franzke, M. 1991, Evaluation techniques evaluated: Experiences using the cognitive walkthrough. In Proceedings of the Bellcore/BBC Symposium on User-Centered Design (BBSUCD) (Bellcore, Piscataway, NJ), 205-211.
24. Gould, J.D. 1988, How to design usable systems. In M. Helander (ed), Handbook of human-computer interaction (Elsevier Science Publishers B. V., Amsterdam, North-Holland), 757-779.
25. Guillemette, R. A. 1989, Usability in computer documentation design: Conceptual and methodological considerations. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 4, 217-229.
26. Jeffries, R. and Desurvire, H. 1992, Usability testing vs. heuristic evaluation: Was there a contest? SIGCHI Bulletin, 4, 39-41.
27. Jeffries, R., Miller, J. P., Wharton, C. and Uyeda, K. M. 1991, User interface evaluation in the real world: a comparison of four techniques. In S. P. Robertson, G. M. Olson and J. S. Olson (eds), Proceedings of the CHI’91 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (Association for Computing Machinery, New York), 119-124.
28. Karat, C.-.M., Campbell, R. and Fiegel, T. 1992, Comparison of empirical testing and walkthrough methods in user interface evaluation. In P. Bauersfeld, J. Bennett and G. Lynch (eds), Proceedings of the CHI’92 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (Association for Computing Machinery, New York), 397-404.
29. Lewis, C. and Mack, R. 1982, Learning to use a text processing system: Evidence from ‘Thinking aloud’ protocols. Proceedings of the Human Factors in Computer Systems Conference (Association for Computing Machinery, Gaithersburg, MD), 387-392.
30. Mantei, M. and Haskell, N. 1983, Autobiography of a firsttime discretionary micro computer user. In A. Janda (ed), Proceedings of the CHI’83 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (Association for Computing Machinery, New York), 286-290.
31. Nickerson, R. 1981, Why interactive systems are sometimes not used by people who could benefit from them. International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 15, 469-483.
32. Nickerson, R.S. 1991, A minimalist approach to the ‘paradox of sense making’. Education Researcher, 20, 24-26.
33. Nielsen, J. 1989, Usability engineering at a discount. In G. Salvendy and M. J. Smith (eds), Designing Human-Computer Interfaces and Knowledgebased Systems (Elsevier Science Publishers B. V., Amsterdam), (North-Holland), 394-401.
34. Nielsen, J. 1992, Finding usability problems through heuristic evaluation. In P. Bauersfeld, J. Bennett and G. Lynch (eds), Proceedings of the CHI’92 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (Association for Computing Machinery, New York), 373-380.
35. Nielsen, J. and Mack, R. L., (eds), 1994, Usability Inspection Methods (John Wiley & Sons, Inc, New York).
36. Nielsen, J. and Phillips, V.L. 1993, Estimating the relative usability of two interfaces: heuristic, formal, and empirical methods compared. In S. Ashlund, K. Mullet, A. Henderson, E. Hollnagel and T. White (eds), Proceedings of the INTERCHI’93 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam, North-Holland), 214-221.
37. Norman, D. A. 1981, Categorization of action slips. Psychological review, 1, 1-15.
38. PC Magazine 1988, PC Magazine Survey, March, 40-41.
39. Penrose, J. M. and Seiford, L. M. 1988, Microcomputer users’ preferences for software documentation: an analysis. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 4, 355-366.
40. Polson, P. G., Lewis, C., Rieman, J. and Wharton, C. 1992, Cognitive walkthroughs: a method for theory-based evaluation of user interfaces. International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 36, 741-773.
41. Price, J. and Korman, H. 1993, How to Communicate Technical Information (Benjamin/Cummings, Menlo Parc, CA).
42. Ramey, J. 1988, How people use computer documentation: implications for book design. In S. Doheny-Farina (ed), Effective Documentation. What We Have Learned from Research (The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA), 143-158.
43. Redish, J. C. 1989, Reading to learn to do. IEEE Transactions on Technical Communication, 4, 289-293.
44. Redish, J.C. 1993, Understanding readers. In C. Barnum and S. Carliners (eds), Techniques for Technical Communications (Macmillan Publishing Company, New York), 14-41.
45. Redish, J. C. and Selzer, J. 1985, The place of readability formulas in technical writing. Technical Communication, 4, 46-52.
46. Rettig, M. 1991, Nobody reads documentation. Communications of the ACM, 7, 19-24.
47. Rowley, D. E. and R hodes, D. G. 1992, The cognitive jogthrough: a fast-paced user interface evaluation procedure. in P. Bauersfeld, J. Bennett and G. Lynch (eds), Proceedings of the CHI’92 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (Association for Computing Machinery, New York), 389-395.
48. Scharer, L. L. 1983, User training: less is more. Datamation, July, 175-182.
49. Schriver, K. A. 1989, Evaluating text quality: The continuum from text-focused to reader-based methods, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 4, 238-255.
50. Sullivan, P. 1989, Beyond a narrow conception of usability testing. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 4, 256-264.
51. Sullivan, P. and Flowers, L. 1986, How do users read computer manuals? Some protocol contributions to writers’ knowledge. In B. T. Petersen (ed), Convergences: Transactions in Reading and Writing (National Council of Teachers of English, Urbana, IL), 163-178.
52. Tripp, S. D. 1990, Book review of: The Nurnberg Funnel: Designing Minimalist Instructions for Practical Computer Skill. Educational Technology Research and Development, 38, 87-90.
53. van der Meij, H. and Carroll, J. M. 1995, Principles and heuristics for designing minimalist instruction. Technical Communications, 2, 243-261.
54. Wærn, Y. 1978, Om att forsta-missforsta-inte forsta det man laser (On understanding-misunderstanding-not understanding what is read). In E. Hjelmquist, L. Sjoberg and H. Montgomery (eds), Undervisningspsykologi (Educational psychology) (AWE/Gebers, Stockholm), 51-79.
55. Wærn, Y. 1988, Thoughts on text in context: Applying the think-aloud method to text processing. Text, 4, 327-350.
56. Weiss, E.H. 1985, How to Write a Usable User Manual (ISI Press, Philadelphia).
57. Wharton, C., Bradford, J., Jeffries, R. and Franzke, M. 1992, Applying cognitive walkthroughs to more complex user interfaces: Experiences, issues and recommendations. in P. Bauersfeld, J. Bennett and G. Lynch (eds), Proceedings of the CHI’92 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (Association for Computing Machinery, New York), 381-388.
58. Williams, T. R., and Farkas, D. K. 1992, Minimalism reconsidered: should we design for exploratory learning? SIGCHI Bulletin, 2, 41-50.
59. Wright, P. 1983, Manual dexterity: a user-oriented approach to creating computer documentation. In A. Janda (ed), Proceedings of the CHI’ 83 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (Association for Computing Machinery, New York), 11-18.
60. Wright, P. 1988, Issues of content and presentation in document design. in M. Helander (ed), Handbook of Human-Computer Interaction (Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam, North-Holland), 629-652.
61. Wright, P. 1991, Designing and evaluating documentation for IT users. In B. Shackel and S. J. Richardson (eds), Human Factors for Informatics Usability (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge), 343-358.