In order to work with clients in the real world, a student must first have a firm grasp on basic communication theories. I incorporated some of these theories into all of my projects. The projects I selected were chosen because they display different skillsets ranging from help centers, usability studies, and process documentation. Help Centers The first sample illustrates instructional writing in a help center for Microsoft PowerPoint. The audience is undergraduate students of Drexel University who need help utilizing special functions of PowerPoint for presentations in their classes. The audience is generally familiar with computers and PowerPoint, but may lack knowledge about the more complex functions. The purpose of the help center is to instruct students on how to use some of the more advanced features in PowerPoint. Because the audience is undergraduate students, the documentation was prepared using HTML Workshop. HTML Workshop creates a tripane help system that can be used online while a student is working in the computer lab. The system is unobtrusive and only displays when the student pursues it. Hard copy instructional guides are often tossed out, so I created an online instructional system that will be readily available to reference. While I focused on the Inserting an action section, all of the content is written in a streamlined-step procedure to ensure that the documentation is easy to follow and effective. The language is clear and concise. The sentence structure is kept short to keep the students interest and provide instructions that are easy to follow. Images have been used to illustrate where the student should be clicking on his or her screen or to show the result of an action (a means of providing feedback). The help center is also set up to lead students via linking into more advanced topics that may be of further assistance to their PowerPoint skills. Usability Report The second sample shows a usability report, which compiled quantitative and qualitative data that was used for recommendations for the Roxborough Development Corporation website. The study included 3 participants at varying levels of experience, who were asked to complete a series of tasks and complete a brief survey. All participants were recorded on a digital recorder and the observer completed an observation form to record any mannerisms, etc. The specimen that I have included follows the general structure for the reports, including executive summary, methodology, results, and findings/recommendations. I created a variety of forms for the usability testing including a consent form, observation form, pre-test questionnaire, and posttest questionnaire. The post-test questionnaire helped to operationalize variables (such as the effectiveness of the webpage). The purpose of the usability report was to supply the Roxborough Development Corporation (RDC) with feedback on how to build a more effective website and provide a general summary of the
problems that users encountered working within the site. The recommendations were divided into two categories. Critical Findings indicated that the findings are critical to the effectiveness of the site and generally affected more than one user. Non-critical Findings indicated findings that were not critical but should be considered as suggestions for revisions. Process Documentation The last sample is a sample of process documentation. This piece of process documentation is a how-to guide for corporate use for Workshare Deltaview. Workshare Deltaview is software used in primarily five categories of business including law firms, contract management, open architecture, metadata management and those using Microsoft Office collaboration in conjunction with SharePoint. I created a document that would motivate the reader to perform the actions. To do this, I focused on motivational elements for user instructions. Nicole Loorbach recommends emplotting the reader. The reader becomes the hero of the narrative and receives a certain sense of empowerment. I attempted to do this through the Introduction in which I informed the reader that he would become a master of document comparison. This also hints to the user that the process will become second nature once he learns it. The audience for this user guide may come from a variety of technical levels. We can assume that because the user has purchased the software, they are familiar with computers at least at the basic business level. I kept the terms simple and included what the icons in the software would look like so that the user can easily identify them. The language was kept simple using terms most office users are already familiar with like click, select, drop-down menu, and press. The user should not be scared off by any jargon that he or she may be unfamiliar with. Loorbachs also suggests motivating users directly. The Saving Your Document section begins Now that you have created your DeltaView. This wording implies that the user has already completed the previous action. This also serves as recognition of the users successful achievement. As with all other forms of technical documentation, the goal is to produce a document that is effective, efficient, and usable while maintaining ethical integrity. The end result should be a more seductive document that will compel the user to read the instructions in full.