Does an approach to instructional design and technical communication that minimizes the amount of content vs. the usefulness of the content always work better than a more comprehensive or “systems” approach?
Well, it depends. It depends on the user, the medium and/or modes of delivery and, in some cases, who is authoring the content/instruction. Generally, a minimalist approach to instructional design and end user documentation focuses on the novice user of a technology or tool. Complex task domains and power users may not be the ideal audience for a minimalist instructional design and documentations approach.
Expert users often require richer, more scenario driven content than a minimalist approach can (or should provide). Understanding the level of task that the audience needs to have represented is the key to documentation/instructions for expert users.
For instance, training and/or documentation on how to use a new feature of a surgical device may require more than the step action, task based approach commonly used in minimalist systems documentation. The surgeon needs to know the context in which the device should be used, what a “successful” use of the device looks likes, and, most importantly, what the consequences of an error might be and how to recover from it.
Since their goals are well defined expert users want to spend little time reading procedural information and more time working with the software (or other tools). A key minimalist guideline is: allow experts to avoid excessive reading. Providing directions they can pursue rather than step-by-step instructions takes advantage of their interest in exploratory learning.
Instructional designers and technical writers tread a very fine line in looking for the right approach, that will enable the best performance for the right user at the right time. Guidelines for the development of instruction for novice users are numerous – but few and far between for the development of instruction for expert users. Barbara Mirel (User experience and Usability lead at University of Michigan National Center for Integrative Biomedical Informatics) lists five themes that help lead instruction for complex tasks away from the conventional:
Develop rich scenarios about activity in context rather than narrow scenarios about unit tasks.
Build interactivity into instruction instead of presenting, for example, view only semantic maps and graphic browsers.
Provide multiple cases that are thematically linked and not just single cases (elaborated examples).
Bring misconceptions to the surface and examine them as part of instructing users in detecting, diagnosing, and recovering from errors.
Develop multiple analogies, metaphors, and examples that mutually support a single point or purpose and not merely one analogy, metaphor or example per point.
From all of us at Tier1, we would like to wish you all a happy Holiday Season. We hope that you get to spend time with family and friends celebrating a season of joy.
Thank you for a wonderful 2009, and we look forward to an even better 2010!
If you’ve received a Google Wave invite, perhaps you were overwhelmed and confused the first time you logged in like I was. Or maybe you’ve never even heard of Google Wave. Either way, I recently found a great FREE resource to get you up to speed on Google Wave.
Appropriately titled “The Complete Guide to Google Wave,” this online guide describes everything in simple terms. They start with the basics like what Google Wave is and how to sign up, then build up to Wave-specific terminology, possible use cases, and advanced features. I especially liked this video explaining how Wave is different from and improves on email:
Don’t let the prominent “$6 Buy Now” graphic throw you off – that’s for the PDF version download. Not that 6 bucks is a lot, but you can read the whole guide on their site for free; just scroll down and click on the chapters.
I’m still exploring and tinkering with Wave myself, but it has a lot of potential to improve communication and collaboration – for work and play. So get yourself signed up for a free invite and read the free guide while you’re waiting. Then you’ll be ready to wave like a pro when you’re given the green light.
I always find it interesting to know what others are reading, how the book(s) have impacted the reader and what’s next on the reading list. I recently asked the TiER1 team to share with me what they’ve been reading this year and what they plan to read in 2010. The list included the following:
The PBS Special The Music Instinct is an excellent television program. It features interviews with Yo-Yo Ma, Bobby McFerrin, David Rothenberg, and many others discussing the impact of music on the brain and for learning. This program, which premiered June 24, may or may not still be available at your local station but there is a series of 5 online videos that may also be helpful:
Movember is an annual, month-long celebration of the moustache, highlighting men’s health issues – specifically prostate and testicular cancer.
According to the Movember Web site,
The idea for Movember was sparked in 2003 over a few beers in Melbourne, Australia. The guys behind it joked about 80s fashion and decided it was time to bring the moustache back. In order to justify their Mos (Australian slang for moustache), they used their new looks to raise money for prostate cancer research… never dreaming that facial hair would ultimately lead to a global movement that would get men talking about a taboo subject – their health.
A Mo Bro starts Movember – the month formerly known as November – clean shaven, and grows a moustache all month long, garnering support from friends and family in the form of donations. What’s more, a Mo Bro is a walking billboard for the cause as his new look opens the door for him to talk about cancers affecting men – making the moustache a symbol, much like the pink ribbon is for breast cancer. Each Movember culminates in a Gala Partè in major cities around the globe where Mo Bros dress up to match their Mo, channeling the likes of Tom Selleck, Gandhi and Ron Burgandy, vying for the ultimate accolade: Man of Movember.
While growing a Mo is left to the guys, Mo Sistas (women who support their guys) form an important part of Movember by recruiting Mo Bros, helping to raise funds and attending the highly anticipated Gala Partés.
This Movember, the money raised in the U.S. will be split between the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
This year TiER1 participants rasied $175.00for Movember. To date, Movember has raised $47 million globally making it the world’s largest charity event for men.
Mark, Roman, Jeremy, and Craig
Of course, you can still make a donation if you’d like at the Movember Web site
