Reading Response #5

What did I learn from usability testing, beyond how to make a grilled cheese with an iron? Well, I learned that it’s extremely helpful! By doing usability testing, it becomes much easier to iron out (no pun intended) any kinks in your instructions. By sitting with someone and watching them while they run through your manual, you can see where things go wrong or have the potential to go wrong.

Because we weren’t doing anything particularly dangerous in class, there wasn’t really any chance that things could go drastically wrong, but when applying usability testing in the real world, it becomes extremely important to write instructions that are clear and simple to use. If you’re trying to fix, say, some kind of farm equipment, especially anything with blades, there’s a real potential for serious injury.

Or, in another example, if you’re writing instructions for children, it might be necessary to write instructions that are oversimplified. Because adults can understand something doesn’t mean children necessarily will. If it’s a recipe that involves baking or something that needs a little more care to be done, then the audience (children) really need to be kept in mind. Warnings also become significant in this case, if knives or ovens or any number of kitchen tools come into play—adult supervision or help becomes part of those instructions, because, again, injuries could occur.

I also learned that pictures go a long way in helping to detail how to put something together. They’re not always needed, but they do come in handy when putting together a lengthier project or if something’s a little more difficult. This way, you can check your work against someone else’s and determine whether or not you’re doing it right.