Overview
Writing out steps in a clear, minimalistic way that provides the user with the information they need is a crucial part of creating a technical document, but that is not a technical writer’s only job. Technical writers are also responsible for ensuring the usability and accessibility of the document so that users are able to locate and understand the information within the document.
When checking for usability, a technical writer or a defined test subject performs prescribed tests to ensure that users can successfully use the content as it is, can make adjustments, or can use tools to consume the information. Usability testing of a document ensures that users can understand what to do and expect as they go through the technical content without having to look elsewhere or forfeit the full capability of the information. Accessibility checks focus primarily on making sure users with disability accommodations (such as screen readers or closed captioning) are able to access the same information users without disability accommodations can. Accessibility also ensures that all users can find, navigate, and view content as it is intended.
Prompt
Locate a technical document on the internet for a product or issue that you have never used before. Be sure to include the link at the beginning of your assignment submission so that your instructor can reference the document as they review your submission. After reading through the steps, write a reflection explaining whether you would be able to understand what to do if you had access to the product, software, or other necessary equipment required for use. If you have problems accessing the document due to accessibility issues, locate another technical document or help topic for that same product or issue where you can access the steps and evaluate usability.
Then, using the module resources in this and previous modules, review your chosen technical document to evaluate its accessibility. Write a reflection explaining whether the document would be considered accessible and how it could be improved to be more accessible to users.
Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:
- Usability Testing: Explain whether each step of the document is easy for an inexperienced user to understand and why or why not.
- If you had to find another document or resource due to accessibility issues with the original, discuss how well the alternative resource explained each step for an inexperienced user and how having an accessible version of the original document would have impacted your experience.
- Required Equipment/Resources: Describe any pieces of equipment or resources from the technical document which you would need in order to successfully achieve the outlined task. Indicate whether this equipment or these additional resources are included with the product, or whether users need to acquire them separately.
- Length of Time: Estimate how long it would take an inexperienced user to complete the task if they followed the steps of the technical document, providing a rationale to support your estimation.
- Accessibility: Describe which elements of the technical document would be considered accessible and which (if any) are not, and explain how the document’s overall accessibility could be improved.