Archives for the category "Information design and usability"
Content Re-use and Narrative Flow
A response to a discussion about disruption of narrative flow, and the consequences of content re-use.
Setting a context for a content strategy vocabulary
The problem with building a glossary is that the definitions need to exist within a context. In my last post, I alluded to the ubiquitous term “template”, which has different meanings within different contexts, and Noz pointed out the word “format”, which has the same problem. The content strategy field is developing its own context, [...]
Plain Language comes to the US – for real, this time
The US will join the UK and Australia, which have Plain Language policies. As of October, the US will adopt the principles of Plain Language that makes content more accessible to low-literacy and ESL readers. Among the first initiatives was to design forms in plain language so that the average person could actually understand and [...]
The Value of Personas
A post on the new Rockley blog got me thinking about personas. If I’ve learned anything over the past number of years as a consultant, it’s not to gloss over steps just because the digital thinkers consider it “the fluffy stuff.” The step of creating personas is one of those steps. Clients, particularly engineers and [...]
How to Develop a Great FAQ Page for an Online Course
When instructors and course designers create an online course, an accompanying FAQ page is often included as part of the package. While the creators of FAQ pages may feel virtuous about providing contextual information, the effectiveness can’t be confirmed until the other side of the equation has been calculated: Are learners using the FAQs? Get [...]
Why semantics matter
In language, semantics is the branch of linguistics which studies meaning in language. In programming, it is the implied meaning of data, and is used to define what entities mean with respect to roles within a system. In other words, words matter because they carry weight and meaning. When the matter touches us personally, the [...]
Understanding the connection between persona development and business impact
When companies want to skimp in a development process, whether that be for a web application, a desktop application, a content management implementation, a usability project, or a documentation set, the first thing they’ll cut (if they even thought of it at all) is doing persona development. They’ll say it’s not important, or that it [...]
Usability of content management systems is discussed on multiple continents
James Robertson of Step Two Designs just published an article on the 11 usability principles for CMS products. As usual, James has said what needs to be said about the topic, simply and eloquently. He has hit all the major points. But one of the pieces that I don’t think gets hammered home often enough [...]
Showing that users do RTFM
An interesting blog post about users who not only read the user manuals, but pay dearly to get their hands on them, and attribute their superior product successes to having read them. Why? The short answer is because the companies were willing to invest in the quality of the materials. Instead of the “let’s pick [...]
When site redesigns go wrong, badly wrong
Canada’s airline, aptly named Air Canada, has a loyalty program called Aeroplan. Here are the reasons that “loyalty” doesn’t equate in the user experience equation. Before the site redesign, the site was usable, more or less. With a little hunt and peck, you could find what most of what you wanted. It was a little [...]
Recent Posts
- The increasing relevance of ebooks and other epublications
- All I learned about book publishing comes from The Book
- Content Re-use and Narrative Flow
- 2012 in Review – a Content Strategy Retrospective
- Two weeks, four events, eight observations: insights from the conference circuit
- Content Inventories, Audits, and Analyses: All part of benchmarking
- Working on the City of Vancouver website
- Occupying a unique content strategy space
- Move over, Big Data. It’s time for Big Content.
- Setting a context for a content strategy vocabulary
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