| Popis: |
A methodology and a computer based program for testing documentation organization and location aids (tab-dividers, indices, tables of content and headings) was developed and used to aid the design and evaluation of documentation. The methodology and program allow computer analogs of documents to be tested before they were actually produced (based on detailed outlines). The documentation testing program presents the test subject a series of goal oriented user tasks. The subject then selects from a set of books and uses the existing location aids or paging to locate the heading that contains the information required to accomplish the task. The program automatically records use of the table of contents, tab-dividers, and index as well as the heading under which the subject believes the information will be found. The subject is allowed to make changes and additions to the tables of content, the index, and main body headings as the test progresses. The program runs in two modes. One mode provides feedback to the test subject on whether the final location is correct and tests how rapidly information can be found. Another model provides no feedback on the correctness of the locations and is used for developing models for the documentation based on user search paths and information content assumed to be under headings. The program has been used to evaluate documentation for a large computer operating system (HP-UX, a variant of UNIX*) and the results show promise. |
