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Content in a box write it down.
Yvonne Chypchar Task-Based Technical Documentation Content in a box - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Yvonne Chypchar Task-Based Technical Documentation Content in a box - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Yvonne Chypchar Task-Based Technical Documentation Content in a box write it down. Audience What information comes first? Visual Structure NASA Space Shuttle Columbia, January 2003 Foam debris hits wing on take-off. The debris
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Audience What information comes first? Visual Structure
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NASA Space Shuttle Columbia, January 2003
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Foam debris hits wing on take-off.
“The debris struck the leading edge of the left wing, damaging the Shuttle's thermal protection system (TPS), which protects it from heat generated with the atmosphere during re-entry.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Columbia_disaster
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16 days later, Space Shuttle Columbia explodes upon re-entry
February 1, 2003
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Studying the problem
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http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0001yB&topic_id=1
“PowerPoint does Rocket Science”
Edward Tufte
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The skill of writing is to create a context in which other people can think. Edwin Schlossberg
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Does this document create a context in which you can think?
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“…the cognitive style of PowerPoint reinforced the hierarchical filtering and biases of the NASA bureaucracy during the crucial period when the Columbia was damaged but still functioning.”
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TASK BASED DOCUMENTATION
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1.Who is your audience?
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- Skill set
- Education
- First language – Is it English, French,
Portuguese?
- Age
- Social-Economic status
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- 2. What information comes first?
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- Concepts
- Procedures
- Processes
- Examples
- Definitions
- References
- Diagrams
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3.What is the visual structure of the document?
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Easy to scan Headings Diagrams Information in logical blocks
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Procedure – a set of steps, which a user performs. Starts with a stated goal or purpose for the set of steps. Contains:
- Actions/steps
Sometimes contains:
- Decisions (and/or)
- Repeated actions
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HEADINGS
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Reader Question Clues to generate heading What is the purpose of function of x? The Purpose (function) of x is to … What kind of information is this?
- Procedure
- Process
- Structure
- Concept
- Principle
- Fact
- Classification
How should I use this information?
- Definition
- Example
- Introduction
- Background
Why did the author write this?
- Importance
- Rationale
- Purpose
- Objective
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“ing” words
- Creating a File
- Deleting a File
Infinitives
- To create a file:
- To delete a file:
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The checklist – A useful tool for task based documentation
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What comes first
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“…readers recall information they perceive to be more important more frequently than information they perceive to be less important.
Carol S. Isakson & Jan H. Pryridakis Influence of Semantics and Syntax on What Readers Remember
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The structure of the sentence influences what we perceive as important.
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Microsoft will release its new platform next week.
This is an independent clause.
- It can stand on its own.
- It’s complete.
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Subject and predicate Microsoft will release its new platform next week.
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If the code passes Quality Assurance, Microsoft will release its new platform next week.
This is a dependent clause.
- It is incomplete.
- It relates to the independent clause.
- It cannot stand on its own.
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Readers perceive that information in independent clauses is more important. They have a tendency to remember that information more.
If the code passes Quality Assurance, Microsoft will release its new platform next week.
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Put the important information in the independent clause. You decide what is important based on your audience, your knowledge/expertise,
- r other reasons.
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Customers will be able to download the software next week for running the VE150 algorithm. Customers will be able to run the VE150 algorithm by downloading the software next week.
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Customers will be able to download the software next week for running the VE150 algorithm. Customers will be able to run the VE150 algorithm by downloading the software next week.
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What comes first?
NASA PowerPoint misrepresented the severity of the
- problem. Important
point hidden in tiny bullet.
Structure
Layout can impede understanding or facilitate it. NASA PowerPoint presentation – impossible to read.
Audience
Audience expectations and needs
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Good Books
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Action painting by American artist Jackson Pollack. Specific audience.
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