Instructions and document testing book

ST. EDWARD'S UNIVERSITY 2018

Instruction Writing and Document Testing Logan Hughes This project is an effort to compile information about how to write effective instructions and how to test them.

Included is a letter to Professor Beth Eakman (mentor), all the information from in-class instruction testing including the instructions used, and my own graphic for instructions created with what I learned from working with my peers.Â

Letter of Transmittal Dear Professor Eakman, I am pleased to present to you the following document containing my project on the creation and testing of instructions. At the end of this document you will find the instruction graphic that I created, designed specifically for Iphones, on the basic steps of how to change a broken laptop screen.

The research for my project came primarily from the work of peers and their instructions for how to vectorize an image in Adobe Illustrator. I had a first hand look at the original instructions and was present to record videos of the participants as they tested them. With this experience, I was able to see the instructions from both the writers' and the participants' point of view. This gave me an understanding of how users come into contact with instructions and how they attempt to apply them.

I chose to write instructions for changing a laptop screen because it was something I have seen done multiple times before by my dad; an engineer. With PCs the process for changing a screen is generally the same across the board, although I did add a disclaimer on my instruction page that the instructions were for a general understanding and users should look at their computer's manual or contact the manufacturers to be sure that there is not anything vastly different with their computer and the way its screen is attached. As I said I have seen this process done many times before, but I contacted my dad to learn the correct technical terms. He also pointed me to his blog about taking apart a PC entirely where I could find the steps specifically about the screen's component parts.

I am pleased with the format I chose, as I think it is unique as well as functional--users will most likely be looking at their phone for instructions since their computer is not functional. This is also part of the reason I chose the popular Iphone 6 for size. I spent many hours putting this document together to show my process and include all the information that gave me the insights I had before writing and creating a document for my instructions. I would have liked to add pictures to my document to add some clarity for users, but for the size and format I chose it would have been very difficult to fit in all the information with the graphics. This project has taught me a lot about the importance of document testing and the attention and care it takes to write useful instructions.

Sincerely, Logan Hughes

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Participant Information Demographics of Volunteers: Age Range: 20-24 Gender Breakdown: 14 females, 4 males Education level: Some college (for all) 1 non-native English speaker (first language: Spanish) Problems - If deselect image no button access - Save image to desktop - Inaccurate language - Conflicting experience Subject Intake Survey Name Age/Academic Year/Gender 1. On a scale of 0-10, how is your general knowledge of software technology?

2. On a scale of 0-10, how is your knowledge of Adobe Illustrator and/or other similar applications?

3. When faced with a new task, how likely are you to read instructions if provided? (not likely at all, not very likely, somewhat likely, very likely, definitely) 4. Notes Caitlyn Gonzalez: 21/senior/female 1. 5 2. 0 3. Not answered Madeleine McIlheran: 22/junior/female 1. 7 2. 1 3. Very likely Elora Shannon: 24/senior/female 1. 2 2. 0 3. Somewhat likely 4. Participant experiencing migraine, may affect test results

Chrystalla Christodoulou: 20/junior/female 1. 2 2. 0 3. Very likely Hank Holmes: 20/sophomore/male 1. 8 2. 2 3. Very likely Sydney Chandler: 22/senior/female 1. 6 2. 0 3. Not very likely Sarah Whalen: 19/junior/female 1. 7 2. 6 3. Very likely Alex Nino: 20/junior/male 1. 6 2. 5 3. Very likely Hughes 2

Test Instructions Vectoring an Image in Adobe Illustrator On Mac Computers

Introduction: Congratulations on purchasing Adobe Illustrator! You are now equipped to create anything limited only to your imagination.

Materials Needed: ● Adobe Illustrator CC for Mac ○ Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support ○ macOS version 10.12 (Sierra) or Mac OS X version 10.11 (El Capitan) ○ 2 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended) ○ 2 GB of available hard-disk space for installation ○ Preferred display screen of 1024 x 768 ○ Internet connection recommended ● Image ○ This process can be replicated with multi-color (color) images, but it is most clear with a solid color (monochrome) image.

Directions: 1. Prepare to screenshot the photo you want to trace: On Mac computers, this command is Shift+Command+4 2. Using the crosshairs of your cursor, draw a box around the image you want to screenshot with your mouse. The computer will save it to the desktop. This screenshot is what will be vectorized. Vectorizing will separate the image into component parts that can be individually modified. The individual components resolution remains static. So the image remains stable/clear at any size.

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3. Open Adobe Illustrator CC.

4. Click on “File” on the main menu bar, then click on “New” on the dropdown menu.

5. Pick a size for your new Adobe Illustrator project then click “Create.”

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6. Locate your image on your desktop, click on it, and then drag it to the new document on Adobe Illustrator CC. This will open the image on a new window in Adobe Illustrator CC.

7. Select “Window” tab on main menu bar on Adobe Illustrator CC and click “Image Trace” from the pulldown menu. The image trace window will open.

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8. Click on the “Advanced” button on the Image Trace window. More options will appear.

NOTE: If you are unable to select any options in the Image Trace window, you may have deselected the image you want to vectorize. To reselect the image, simply click on it once.

Once you do this, you should be able to use the Image Trace window.

9. Click the “Ignore White” box.

Make sure the check is marked before moving to the next step.

10. Click the “Trace” button. The image is now traced. Now, we will expand it.

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11. Select “Object” tab on the main menu bar and click “Expand” from the pulldown menu. A new window will pop up in Adobe Illustrator CC.

12. Click “Expand” in the window without changing the default settings. Click “Okay” once to expand your image.

Troubleshooting: If the menu options are not selectable, the image may have become deselected. To check this, see if there is a box around the image. If there is not, click the image once.

Intended Audience: Students, first semester design students, specifically formatted for students who use mac, they would be finding this with the professor.

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Test Results Questions: 1. Tell me about your experience.

2. On a scale of 1 to 5, how useful did you find these instructions?

3. Did you have any problems?

4. Did anything slow you down?

5. What would you have changed?

6. Is there anything else you felt they could have done differently?

7. How would you rate: a. Intro- b. Materials- c. Description of materials- d. Procedures- e.

Troubleshooting8. Rate your overall experience 1 to 5.

Responder 1: 1. It was good. I'm not a MAC person, so I wasn’t confident trying to find stuff. Opening up illustrator, didn’t know where it was supposed to be. I usually just click all the buttons, so I didn’t mind that. I think I did it right in the end though.

2. 4 3. Just navigating because again I'm not sure how to use MACs. 4. Just navigating 5. To a PC. Just cause I'm more familiar with it. It wasn’t hard or anything, it just took a little extra time.

6. No 7. How useful? a. Intro- 5 b. Materials- 5 c. Description of materials- 5 d. Procedures- 4 e.

Troubleshooting- 0 (there was none) 8. 4.5

Responder 2: 1. I feel like overall, it worked, I was able to do the end goal, so they were successful. In the beginning, there was a little bit of confusion because there were things I intuitively thought I needed to do. There are probably some missing steps in the beginning.

2. 3 3. More towards the beginning, the second half I didn't have any problems with. I felt like the screen I started on was just the regular safari page. So, there should be a part that says how to open a new document. And then also the way it has you take the image, is to screenshot it, but I feel like if I were to get an image from somewhere it wouldn’t be through a screenshot.

4. This is more about the design of the instructions. It was a lot of text and hard to read. I kept getting lost of where I was looking on the screen.

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The bolding helped a lot to see what the next step was. And then the last thing, some of the steps were wordy and long and it felt like it needed to be broken into multiple steps.

5. No 6. No 7. How useful? a. 2 (not sure if they had an introduction and the first 4 steps were confusing) b.

0 (did not show her) c. 0 (don't remember) d. 4 e. 0 (didn't have one) 8. 4 Responder 3: 1. It went pretty smoothly until the end. I had trouble in the beginning and I couldn’t finish it because it was not working.

2. 4 3. At the beginning, I don't remember exactly but I think it was me because I figured it out. The first 2 steps were difficult. And then at the end when I couldn’t finish.

4. I mean I stopped so it slowed me down. I think it’s important to note that I am not a MAC user, so things a mac user wouldn't have a problem with.

5. The first two steps, some of the words wasn’t completely specific.

6. No 7. Useful? a. (didn't see them) b. (didn't see them) c. (didn't see them) d. Close 5 cause most of them were very to the point e. (didn't see them because she stopped) 8. 4 Responder 4: 1. I didn’t, I had no idea what vectoring an image was and until I actually left and asked the professor. That was a bad way to start. If I had known what I was doing, I would've been able to figure it out. The instructions for the most part was very helpful. There were some wordy things. I glaze over things so that’s not helpful, but the bolded words were helpful because I saw those mostly. But it was good; I figured it out.

2. 4 3. Finding some of the things because I hadn't used the program before. Like using some of the menu boxes.

4. No 5. Just some of the bolding and some of the words a little bit clearer. Just the phrasing could be a little bit clearer. But again, that was just because I would read mostly, your eye goes to the bold and that wouldn’t always be the entire thing 6. No, I thought it was good 7. Useful? 1. Didn't see them 2. Wasn't a list as far as I know 3. I don’t think there was one 4. 3.7 5. Didn't even open it, but I would've given it a 5.

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Responder 5: 1. Well I didn’t get very far so I felt stupid but that's probably on me 2. 2.5 - because I felt like there was some stuff missing or images would be helpful 3. Yeah, I got stuck 4. Just trying to find like when you'd open the tab or where things are 5. Add in pictures or screenshots of what your desktop looks like with arrows pointing to what you're doing 6. Yeah, I guess just images or location tools 7. Useful? 1. Didn’t see them 2. Didn't see them 3. Didn’t' see them 4. Could use more specific- 3.2 5. Didn't see them, I could've and should've 8. 3 Responder 6: 1. My experience was I struggled.

2. 2 3. Yes, I had a few problems. One of the problems was I had trouble finding where my saved photo was. Particularly since I'm not a mac user I had trouble finding applications. Those were the main things, so I didn’t get very far.

4. Nothing really slowed me down in the ease of reading or comprehending things. It was just the idea of the clarity of what was going to happen. It wasn’t clear what would happen in the next step.

5. Honestly, I'd probably just give a little more detail about what was going to happen and where things were located because I thought that was a little vague.

6. Besides that, no, the biggest things were the steps weren't as detailed as they could've been 7. Useful? 1. Didn’t see it 2. Didn’t see it 3. Didn’t see any 4. 2 5. Didn’t see one 8. 3 Responder 7: 1. I got really confused at first. I think one of the things they didn’t do was that they didn’t notify you that the image was going to be saved. Other than that, the instructions were well laid out.

Maybe put more details in the descriptions of where options were. Other than that, it was pretty easy.

2. 4 3. Just the one I described in the beginning.

4. Yeah, just not knowing where in the menus I was supposed to be looking.

5. I don’t know, probably just the listing the locations of the items in the menus.

6. No 7. Useful? 1. 3 2. 5 3. 3 4. 4 5. Didn’t look 8. 4

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My Instruction Graphic From document testing I learned that all materials used, no matter how common sense they may seem, need to be included before users begin.

This disclaimer is meant to act as a Troubleshooting measure.

I made sure to conclude my instructions with a positive line telling the user what they should have completed. It adds a reassuring tone.

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