1. UCD and Technical
Communications: the
inevitable marriage
Christopher S. LaRoche, Northeastern University
College of Professional Studies (CPS)
Senior Lecturer & Technical Communications
Consultant
Brian Traynor, Associate Professor
Faculty of Communication Studies
Mount Royal University

2. • 2000 KM apart – why are we presenting
together?
• Evolution of programs
• Evolution of courses
• Skillsets for future
• Opportunity to approach student
engagement for entire programs

3. • The merging of technical communication with
the Usability/User Experience (UX) field is
inevitable and increasing quickly.
• Failure to recognize and embrace these
changes will hasten the field‟s demise.

4. • As a result, our teaching and technical
communication programs must reflect this
change to remain relevant and functioning.
• Much of this workshop will include discussing
this theme by providing examples and exercises
to show how this change can be central to a
technical communication program.

5. • “User-Centered Design (UCD) is a methodology
that requires that the user of products be thought
of and understood during the entire process of
product conception, development, and
implementation.”
• Many technical communicators attempt UCD
methods & practices, but that is now required

6. • Methods and mode of content delivery always
change (this is a constant) – but the types of
content required and expected are rapidly and
dramatically changing.

7. • “For students, teachers,
and practitioners, the era
of „just in case‟
documentation is dead,
while the era of „just
enough‟ documentation
has dawned.”

8. • “Failure to adapt these methods quickly in both
the classroom and the profession will invariably
lead to the field‟s further decline and likely
extinction as we currently understand it”

9. • Evolution of the Bachelor‟s Degree in Information
Design at Mt. Royal College/University
• Evolution of the MS in Technical Communications
program at Northeastern University

10. Workshop format
• Overview of some courses and how
UCD is integrated
• Warming up the sketching muscle…
• Navigation labeling…
• Moving from self-centric to usercentric
– Student Experiences & Self-service
• Debrief and feedback

11. Design Knowledge Lifecycle
Research:
Knowledge of
knowledge
generation
Design cases
Domain knowledge
Requirements
Principles
Methods
Tools
Guidelines
Reflective inquiry
Provisional solutions
Design
Knowledge
Lifecycle
Design:
Knowledge of
design
User knowledge
User profiles
Contexts
Use cases
Use:
Knowledge of
use
Artifacts
Services
Requirements
Needs
Cases

12. Design is choice
Two places for creativity (Buxton, 2008):
– The creativity you bring to enumerating
meaningful distinct options from which to
choose
– The creativity that you bring to defining the
criteria, or heuristics, according to which you
make your choice.
Elaboration
Reduction
Design Process

13. What do you currently do
?

14. Evolving ideas

15. Investment
Design Funnel
Ideation
Time

16. Defining Sketching
• Sketching is integral to design practice
• Idea generation and refinement
• Develops an open philosophy for input and
exploration
• Not developing artistic skills, developing ideas
and exploration of creative practices

17. Quick, disposable, iterative

18. And learn
• When uncertainty is high – keep stakes
low
• Manage front-end process differently
• User-centric orientation embedded
• Participatory design for optimal input
• Iterative user involvement, testing and
validation

19. Key documentation milestones
Knowledge
Acquisition
Concept
Investigation
Basic
Design
Prototype
Build
Content Plan
Ability to influence outcome
Project Spending
Manpower
Pilot
Production
Preliminary
Manufactur
ing Ramp
Standard

20. Sketching experience – Cashing out!
• Class exercise. Come up with the best
possible cash withdrawal experience you can.
– How long should it take for you to get your cash?
– What might be the minimum standards for this
experience
– Can you make this a „good‟ experience
– Can you come up with ideas that can improve the
experience
– Sketch out what the experience will be like
What do we want to tell them? What do we want them to do?

21. Minimum acceptable
standards
• Minimum acceptable
standards that are
achievable in routine
professional (normal)
practice
• Socially acceptable

22. Design is Critique
• People on design team
must be as happy to be
wrong as right
• Strong, but fair, criticism
• Reject with good
rationale
• Learn something new
than to be right

23. Design is Compromise
Generation
Generation
Product Design
Specification
Convergence
Convergence

24. Sketches
• Sketches make invisible ideas visible
• How many sketches are enough?

25. Warming up the sketching muscle
• Brainstorming
• Fear of sketching
• Bringing in expertise
• Practice and display
• Sharing work

26. Software-based vs. pencil & paper

27. COMM 1610: Tools for information design
Phase 1: Idea
generation
• Visual brainstorming map identifying appropriate Instructions
for Re-Design (IRD) and the final, selected IRD with rationale.
Phase 2:
Research, scoping,& benchmarking
• Background research, set of user profiles, scenarios of use,
benchmark test for original instructions.
Phase 3:
Concept development
• Large collection of sketches and their iterations;
final sketch ready for user testing.
Phase 4:
Testing and refining
• User test of re-designed instructions; final sketch iteration;
and class presentation.

28. User Involvement
• You don‟t know what you don‟t know!
• Who to test? Ethnographic considerations
• Separation of user and designer

29. Process Journal
• Developing good habits
• Keeping groups on
track
• Reflection on work
done
• Paper vs electronic
• Mixed student feedback

30. Project poster & presentation
• Showcasing work
• Group dynamic and
project pressures
• Presentation skills
• Celebration
• Public exposure

31. Conclusion
• Investment – not looking for perfection
• Professional orientation – portfolio of work
• Group think and compromises
• Project management
• Self-centric  User-centric

32. Sketch to Prototype Continuum
sketch
Prototype
Evocative
Didactic
Suggest
Describe
Explore
Refine
Question
Answer
Propose
Test
Provoke
Resolve
Tentative
Specific
Noncommittal
Depiction
Fail early and Fail often

33. Navigation & Labeling
• TCC 6110 – Information Architecture:
evolved from a theoretical to practitioner
class - redesign an existing Web site.
• Focus is on the review of the navigation
and labeling within a Web site.

34. Navigation & Labeling
• Class includes a final project that updates
the navigation and labeling of a Web site
of their choice.
• This activity is the next logical step after
the sketching ideas discussed - moving
on to update and make a product more
user centric.

35. Navigation & Labeling
• Card sorting – critical to revamping a Web
site‟s navigation and labels.
• Suggest as part of a way to better
understand UCD and user centric model –
attempt this method to see if clear trends
and themes emerge.

36. Navigation & Labeling
• After card sort, have students see if other
methods needed (such as competitive
analysis of other sites) and then start
prototyping for the updates.
• Following is an example of label and
navigation updates:

37. Navigation & Labeling
• Student example of updating labeling in site:

38. Navigation & Labeling
• Example of existing navigation in site:

39. Navigation & Labeling
• Student example of updated navigation in site:

40. Navigation & Labeling
• Understanding of basic concepts of
information architecture and investigating
UCD methods to review and validate
labeling and navigation of Web site is goal.
• Promote more visual approach to move
from text-based approach too.

41. Navigation & Labeling
• Another key concept is students now
demand key practical skills „take aways‟
from this class and program – this is one.
• Failure to provide these practical skills to
students will hasten the program‟s demise.
• Must constantly reinvent/update program.

42. • Student engagement – ownership of work
• Creative tensions
• Students see instructors collecting data on course
COMM1610 - Learning
4
3.5
3
COMM1610 - fall 2008 students
2.5
COMM1610 - fall 2008 instructor
2
1.5
1
Working effectively
with others
Thinking critically
and analytically
Writing clearly and
Solving complex
effectively
real-world problems
Using computing
and information
technology
Learning effectively
on your own
Speaking clearly
and effectively
Analyzing
quantitative
problems
Understanding
people of other
ethnic backgrounds

43. Future steps
• Suitable projects
• Earlier testing
• Tracking cohort through
four years
• Reinforce process in other
courses

44. Future steps – required skill sets
• Traditional technical communication skills are
still required: solid writing skills, technological
inquisitiveness, etc
• Understanding of UCD and usability is now also
required – and a true understanding of your user
base.
• Documentation continues to exist – but must be
focused on new ideas such as using tool tips,
graphics, videos, etc. More words not an option!

45. Using UCD on ourselves
• Please comment on the survey we passed out.
• Let‟s discuss how our presentation mapped to
your understanding and needs!
• What successes have you had with your
students so we can learn from you.

46. Thank you
• Now we want to hear from you! What do you
think about the approaches presented? Can
they work for you?
• What have you been doing that we can learn
from? How are you creating an engaging, safe
learning environment for your students.
• Let‟s continue the discussion:
– c.laroche@neu.edu
– btraynor@mtroyal.ca