In the workplace, you may be asked to write documentation or to document processes for a variety of reasons. You may need to explain your tasks or duties to someone else as part of training. You may need to explain the functions of a product or how to use a service that your company provides. Your audience may be people in your workplace or specific segments of the public.
Writing good documentation requires being able to effectively analyze a process, to use precise language, to imagine the reader’s perspective, and to test and revise for usability. This assignment seeks to help you learn more about each of these elements.
Specifics
This project will require you to:
- Identify a process or event in your personal, social, or professional life that needs to be documented.
The process should be a short, specific set of tasks in which you have expertise that achieves a specific result. Examples include: Creating a mail merge in Word, Knitting a scarf, Baking a loaf of bread, Scanning a photo and saving it to your hard drive, Taking a picture with a digital camera, Sending an e-mail with an attachment.
- Create detailed written and visual documentation that explains the process at an audience-appropriate level
Your documentation should be at least two (2) pages long but not longer than five (5) pages and contain a detailed list of steps that guides the reader through the process. It should also contain at least two (2) visual elements (such as diagrams, illustrations, or pictures) to help the reader understand specific parts of the process.
You will write an initial draft of your documentation and conduct usability testing on it. The initial draft will not be graded, but you will receive peer and instructor feedback. Then you will produce a final draft, which will be graded.
- Test the documentation with your target audience and revise it based on the results of your testing.
You will conduct usability testing in class (and outside of class) on the first draft of your documentation and produce a usability testing report, which will be graded. Guidelines for the usability testing report will be given out during that phase of the project.
- Produce a print or digital version of your documentation (depending on the needs of your audience).
You will decide whether your audience would be better served by having a print version of the documentation or a digital version of the documentation such as a Web page or PDF file. The instructor will help you produce the appropriate versions when you have made your choice.
You can earn a total of 250 points for this project, out of the 1000 points total for the class.
Grading Criteria
This project will be graded based on how well you:
- Consider the needs of your audience and write from a reader-centered perspective.
- Analyze your process and break it down into usable steps.
- Use precise language to describe each step.
- Create clear and precise visuals to help your reader understand and complete the task.
- Test your documentation, report on the testing, and revise based on the results of your testing.
Specific grading rubrics will be attached to your usability testing report and final draft which explain grading criteria and how your grade was calculated.
Project Goals
This project helps you to meet the following course goals:
- Identify needs for information in business communication: analyze audiences and their information needs, determine appropriate genres and formats for your documentation.
- Access information: conduct research (if necessary) to help document your process.
- Evaluate information: assess which information needs to be presented to the reader, evaluate how readers use your documentation, provide oral and written feedback on documentation
- Use information: learn about the functions and features of documentation, design and present written and visual information in a print or digital format, develop effective style and tone for your audience, create usable and visually effective document designs.
- Attribute information: consider the ethical implications of poorly written documentation.
Due Dates
- Topic Due to Instructor (by e-mail): October 3
- Initial Draft of Documentation Due: October 19
- Usability Testing Report Due: October 26
- Final Draft of Documentation Due: October 31