ABSTRACT
Scenario One: A technical communicator is sent a 300-page manual in PDF for one of her company’s products. The manual is not meeting the needs of its readers because it is systems-based; currently, it provides an exhaustive treatment of the product and all of its functions. Upon reviewing the manual, the writer decides to make it task-based and to completely reorganize and rewrite it. As the writer contemplates how best to revise the manual, she thinks, first and foremost, about product users and what they would want from the manual. She knows that none of them would find the manual useful in its current form. She also knows that there are different groups of users, and each group will need different parts of the manual based on their varied uses of the product. Her restructuring results in a document that is better targeted at its readers
Scenario Two: A technical communication consultant is hired to conduct a usability test of a Web-based application that helps individuals design and select health insurance plans. The application had been designed for groups of users assembled in a single location. Recently, it was redesigned to accommodate users in different locations. The consultant is concerned with whether users can achieve success with the application and with whether they can still interact with one another now that they are no longer in the same place. She knows that some users will be highly skilled in accessing and using the application on the Internet, while others will be less proficient. In addition to providing recommendations for improving the application, the consultant has been asked to develop an administrator’s guide in PDF. What results is a carefully structured, task-based guide with numerous screen shots and figures.
