Syllabus

In addition to the topics and activities listed below, there will be weekly group meetings to work on the course project.

Week 1

January 8 (Class 1)

Introduction to course

Introduction to user assistance (UA)

 

January 10 (Class 2)

Kinds of UA; Key issues in UA

UA and UX

Planning a comprehensive user support strategy

Examine the AM/FM Flashlight UI Exercise and UI graphic and be prepared to discuss them in class.

Read Microsoft Manual of Style (MMS), “Microsoft Style and Voice.”

 

Week 2

January 15 (Class 3)

Introduction to target software application: Priority Contact

Overview of UA genres

Plans for course project

Examine Priority Contact.

Read MMS, “Content for a Worldwide Audience.”

 

January 17 (Class 4)

Designing and writing procedures

Procedure-writing workshop

Read course notes, “How to Write Procedures.”

Read course notes, “Writing with a Task Orientation.” -

Read MMS, “Procedures and Technical Content” (through p. 113).

 

Week 3

January 22 (Class 5)

Introduction to task-hierarchy user assistance

User task flow and UA task hierarcy

Plan task hierarchy for Priority Contact

Read Farkas, “The Logical and Rhetorical Construction of Procedural Discourse.”

 

January 24 (Class 6)

Audiences and personas

Procedure workshop

Introduction to technical explanations

Submit procedure exercise (Bring two extra two extra copies for workshop activity.)

Read MMS, “Accessible Content.”

 

Week 4

January 29 (Class 7)

Findability

Minimalist documentation and layering

Read MMS, “The User Interface” (first half of chapter).

Read MMS, “Indexes and Keywords.”

 

January 31 (Class 8)

Designing and writing reference and embedded help

Read "Embedded Help Analysis."

Read DeLoach, "Divide and Conquer: Providing Web-based User Assistance at the Point of Use.

Read MMS, “Content for the Web.”

Read MMS, “Procedures and Technical Content” (second half of chapter).

 

Week 5

February 5 (Class 9)

The user's cost-benefit analysis

Centralized help systems and manuals

Peruse sample manuals and help systems as assigned.

Read DeBoard, “Heuristic Evaluation Questionnaire.”

Read MMS, “The User Interface” (second half of chapter).

 

February 7 (Class 10)

Usability testing in UA

Procedure and overview workshop

Read course notes, “Evaluation and Usability Testing.”

Read Rosenbaum, “Stalking the User.”

Read the sample usability test reports as assigned.

 

Week 6

February 12 (Class 11)

Designing and writing troubleshooting content

Responding to user queries in support forums

Read Farkas, “The Diagnosis-Resolution Structure in Troubleshooting Procedures.”

Peruse sample troubleshooting content as assigned.

 

February 14 (Class 12)

Designing and writing tutorials and demos

Designing and writing wizards

Peruse sample tutorials, demos, and wizards as assigned.

Read Tidwell, "Design Pattern on Wizards."

Read MMS, “Content for the Web.”

Week 7

February 19 (Class 13)

Video in UA

Watch sample videos as assigned.

Read MMS, “Practical Issues of Style.

Submit procedure assignment.

 

February 21 (Class 14)

Guest class: Bob Watsion, Microsoft and HCDE
Designing and writing SDK/developer documentation

Peruse SDK (software development) documentation as assigned.

Read Delaney, “Wallaby Specification” (a strategy document for creating an SDK).

Read MMS, “Grammar.”

 

Week 8

February 26 (Class 15)

Designing and writing marketing content

Read Radding, “The Whitepaper Whitepaper.”

Peruse sample white papers as assigned.

Read MMS, “Punctuation.

 

February 28 (Class 16)

Guest class: Joe Welinske, Welinske.com

UA for mobile

Read selections from Welinske, Developing User Assistance for Mobile Apps, as assigned.

Examine, Villamor, Willis, & Wrobewski, Touch Gesture Reference Guide.

Review the section “Gesture,” on pp. 83-84 of the MMS and the individual gesture entries listed on p. 84.

 

Week 9

March 5 (Class 17)

Exam

 

March 7 (Class 18)

No Class: Writers UA Conference

 

Week 10

March 12 (Class 19)

Review Exam

Standard production processes (including localization)

Content management systems and DITA

Read Fisher, “Moving from Single Sourcing to Reuse with XML DITA.”
Upload group projects.

March 14 (Class 20)

Course wrap-up

Presentations on group projects