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November Meeting Preview:
Identity Crisis—The Persona as
a Tool for Evaluating Information
By Elaine Tsang, VP-Programs, and Bonni Graham

Click here for November meeting details

In November we welcome Bonni Graham, our STC Region 8 Director-Sponsor. She will share regional and international STC news and deliver her presentation, Identity Crisis.

Knowing your audience's demographics is well and good, but statistics are not people—and we write for people. This presentation explains how to turn statistics into a "persona" and use that to improve and sustain your information design.

Bonni Graham has spent 10 years as a practicing technical documenter. In 1994, she started Manual Labour, a successful technical documentation outsource provider. Over the years, Bonni has provided extensive support to the STC. Prior to taking the reigns as Region 8 Director-Sponsor, Bonni has been involved in nearly every Region 8 conference, has been a deputy chair for the Annual Conference, has served as a judge for local- and international-level publications competitions, and has served as chapter president and newsletter editor.

See the Competition Exhibit

Be sure to arrive early to view recent STC International Competition winning entries. This exhibit travels around the country to allow STC members the opportunity to see outstanding work being produced by their peers around the world. We've got a fantastic line-up, so please join us! [Meeting details.]

Attendees: 70

Chapter president Walter Hanig opens meeting.

Guest speakers (from left):
Michael Korn, Dave O'Brien, and Garrett Goldfield

Dave O'Brien introduces Mystery Science Theater 2000.

Michael Korn describes usability.

Garrett Goldfield gives usability dos and don'ts

Drawing winner Suzy Hosie

Drawing winner Kenneth Gaither

After taking a few moments to acknowledge some of the many volunteers who help make STC-San Diego happen, Walter made the following announcements:

• James Kline, Monique Gagnon, Catherine Robinson, and Hank Staley were welcomed as new senior members of the San Diego chapter.
  
  
• A volunteer is needed to handle the monthly meeting reservations. The position involves receiving automatic e-mail from the Web site, then adding the reservation information to a spreadsheet. If you are interested in helping with the meeting reservations, please contact Elaine Tsang.
  
  
• Another volunteer is needed to serve as a liaison for our student members. If you are interested in this position, contact Walter Hanig.

After the announcements, members seeking work were invited to stand and describe their credentials and types of jobs desired, after which those seeking new employees announced positions.

• Web sites that made the user "hunt" for the price.
• A gadget with several nonfunctioning buttons.
• An airline reservation system that allowed the user to find a flight, but not reserve it from the same place.
• A turnstile scheme that required ticket takers with gymnastic ability.

• Human Factors Psychology—the study of man/machine systems.
  
  
• Behavioral Science—attempts to predict how people will interact with a machine before the fact. This discipline used to concentrate on gathering data after a product was released. Now more time is devoted to gathering previous results and applying them early on in the development process.
  
  
• Cognitive Science and Psychology—seeks to answer basic questions about human cognition and memory. How many and what types of tasks can a user handle simultaneously?

• Military. The military concentrated on the study of reaction time and decision making, which could mean the difference between life and death.
  
  
• Automotive. In a competitive market, car makers sought ways to get an edge over the competition. One way was to focus on improving the user experience, which increased the number of repeat customers.
  
  
• Hardware. Whereas the military was primarily concerned with the severity of errors, the hardware industry began focusing on decreasing the frequency of errors.
  
  
• Software and the Web. With the recent boom in software and Internet usage, developers wanted a competitive edge. The need to improve the users' experience led to the development of the graphical user interface and the use of multiple clues (i.e., visual and textual) to guide the user.

• Don't make the user figure it out. It is important to design with the users' expectations in mind. Make the product intuitive.
  
  
• Don't put the burden on the users to remember. Try to minimize cognitive and memory loads. Graphics are good, but make sure they are useful.
  
  
• Focus on the user. Understand your audience (sound familiar?). Collaborate with the intended users if possible.
  
  
• Don't rely on presentation. The novelty of a beautiful interface will wear off quickly if the users can't find what they are looking for. Consider the purpose of the interface.
  
  
• Don't assume you know the answer. Conform to the users' point of view. Use their vocabulary. Drop the tech-speak. Find the correct level of complexity.
  
  
• Don't complicate tasks. Common tasks should be easy. Don't add extra problems.
  

• Don't think inside out. Look at the big picture. Promote learning. Create a risk-free environment (give the user an escape hatch).
  
  
• Don't assume it's correct. Test it!
  
  
• Don't assume they want to read. Text should be clear, concise, scannable, and eye-catching.