Annotated Bibliography: Engaging the Involved

Audience in Open Systems of Documentation

Theroleofatechnicalcommunicatorindevelopingcomputerdocumentationisnolonger
confinedtomerelycreatingahelpfile.Technicalcommunicatorsareatonceuseradvocates
whoparticipateinusabilitytestingandmediatebetweendevelopersandendusers,and
creatorsforadiversesetofdocumentationsourcestomeetanexpandingsetofuserneeds.
Expandingfromaclosedsystemofdocumentationopensupnumerousopportunitiesfor
technicalcommunicatorstocreatemoreeffectivedocumentationwithdirectinputfromusers,
andpotentialgainsinunderstandinghowendusersworkwithinsystemsthatcanbeusedto
advocatewithdevelopmentteamsonbehalfofusers.However,workingtowardanopen
systemofdocumentationcreatesnewchallengesaswell.Therehasbeenagreatdealof
writingontechniquesforusabilityresearch.However,littlehasbeensaidaboutthepotential
roleofadistributednetworkofcomputerdocumentationinfutureusabilitystudies.For
example,whatcanuserforumstellusaboutusability?Whentechnicalcommunicatorstake
onrolesinusabilitytestingandindevelopingopensystemsofdocumentationfortheirusers,
wheredotheserolesbestoverlap?

Thegoalofthisannotatedbibliographyistotracktheintersectionofconversations
surroundingtheroleoftechnicalcommunicatorsasusabilityexpertsandthedevelopmentof
opensystemsofdocumentationwhereinusersareactiveparticipants.Finally,Itrack
conversationssurroundingeffectiveonlinedocumentationasameansformeasuringthe
effectivenessofanyopensystemofdocumentation.Bytrackingtheseconversations,wecan
begintounderstandtheroleoftechnicalcommunicatorsindevelopinganopensystemof
documentationandthepotentialaffordancesandlimitationsofsuchasystemforusability
testingwhilemaintainingagrasponwhatmakesthistypeofsystemaneffectiveformof
documentationforusers.

________________________________________________________
The Involved Audience and Open Systems of Documentation
________________________________________________________

Johnson,R.R.(1997).Audienceinvolved:Towardaparticipatorymodelofwriting.
ComputersandComposition,14,
361376.doi:10.1016/S87554615(97)900062

AuthorAbstract
Incontemporarycompositionstudies,theconceptofaudiencehasbeenprimarilyrepresented
asafictionalconstructthatiseithertheimageofanobjectivereality(audienceaddressed)or
ofafictionalizedconstructofawriter'simagination(audienceinvoked).Thisarticleaddsto

thistheoreticaltaxonomyofaudiencethroughtheinclusionofathirdmodelofaudience:
audienceinvolved.Drawingupondefinitionsoftechnologicalknowledgeandrhetorical
notionsofart,making,anduse,thecaseismadeforanepistemicaudience.Toexemplifythe
notionofaninvolvedaudience,usabilitymethodsandtwocasestudiesofaudiencesare
presentedtodemonstratetheactive,collaborative,andnegotiatednatureoftheinvolved
audience.Thisarticleconcludeswithadiscussionoftheimplicationsofinvolvedaudiences
forbothtechnicalcommunicationandcompositionpedagogy.

AdditionalComments
Johnson'sconceptofaudienceinvolvedpredatesandplaysdirectlyintoSpinuzziand
Zachry'sopensystemsofdocumentation.Underthisconcept,audiencesarenotpassive
receptaclesfordocumentationasintheaudienceaddressed,noraretheyimaginarytoolsto
aidtechnicalcommunicatorsintheircraftasintheaudienceaddressed.Instead,theyare
activeparticipantsinaconversationbetweentechnicalcommunicatorsandendusers.
SpinuzziandZachry'sopensystemsmaketheaudiencevisibleanddecreasesthedistance
betweenthetechnicalcommunicatorandtheiraudienceinordertomakeitpossiblefor
audiencememberstoactuallyparticipateinandcontributetothedevelopmentof
documentation.

AparticularlyinterestingpointofJohnson'sdiscussionoftheaudienceinvolvedisthemove
fortechnicalcommunicatorsbeyondtheroleofuseradvocacy.Thisisarelativelynewrolefor
technicalcommunicatorsingeneral,however,byactuallyincludingusersinthetesting
process,technicalcommunicatorsareenabledtobeevenstrongeruseradvocatesthanthey
mighthavebeenotherwise.

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Spinuzzi,C.,Zachry,M.(2000).Genreecologies:Anopensystemapproachto
understandingandconstructingdocumentation.
ACMJournalofComputer
Documentation,24(3),
169181.doi:10.1145/344599.344646

AuthorsAbstract
Arguingthatcurrentapproachestounderstandingandconstructingcomputerdocumentation
arebasedontheflawedassumptionthatdocumentationworksasaclosedsystem,the
authorspresentanalternativewayofthinkingaboutthetextsthatmakecomputer
technologiesusableforpeople.Usingtwohistoricalcasestudies,theauthorsdescribehowa
genreecologiesframeworkprovidesnewinsightsintothecomplexwaysthatpeopleusetexts
tomakesenseofcomputertechnologies.Theframeworkisdesignedtohelpresearchersand
documentorsaccountforcontingency,decentralization,andstabilityinthemultipletextsthe
peopleusewhileworkingwithcomputers.Theauthorsconcludebyproposingthreeheuristic
toolstosupporttheworkoftechnicalcommunicatorsengagedindevelopingdocumentation
today:exploratoryquestions,genreecologydiagrams,andorganicengineering.

AdditionalComments:
ThisarticleisthebasepointfromwhichIbeginmyresearchintothisarea.Theideathat
documentationshouldbeanopensysteminwhichusersactivelyparticipateisonethat
becomesincreasinglyrelevantastheInternetprovidesgrowingnumbersofwaystopresent
documentationandforuserstointeractandcontributetothatdocumentationthroughonline
documentation,technicalsupport,userforums,socialmediaoutlets,etc.However,withthis
greatincreaseinpotentialinteractions,itnowbecomesimportanttoanalyzeandunderstand
whichoftheseinteractionsismostfruitfulforallinvolvedparties,aswellaswhichinteractions
canmostconsistentlyleadtechnicalcommunicatorstoabetterunderstandingoftheusability
oftheentiresystemtheysupport:documentationandproductalike.

Importantpoints:
Effectivecomputerdocumentationmustdrawonnumerousresourcesratherthanbe
treatedasaclosedsystem.
Regardlessofhowweintenddocumentationtobeused,peoplewilltreatitasa
startingpointfortheirownusageinsteadofaclosedsystem.
Anopensystemapproachentailsrecognizingthathumaninteractionswithcomplex
technologiesareinevitablymediatedbydynamicandunpredictableclustersof
communicationartifactsandactivities(cf.SuchanandDulek,1998).Suchclusterscan
bebestdescribedasgenreecologies."(pg.170)
Usabilitystudiesmustconsidertheentiresystemofdocumentationinordertoprovide
genuineinsights.Inaddition,documentationandinterfacesmustbothbetreatedas
partofthesystemofdocumentationratherthanbeingtestedasseparateobjects.

________________________________________________________

Spinuzzi,C.(2005).Themethodologyofparticipatorydesign.
Technical
Communication,52(2),
163174.

AuthorsAbstract
Technicalcommunicatorshavelatelybecomeinterestedinparticipatorydesignasawayto
structureandguidetheirresearchanddevelopmentefforts,particularlyinonlinemedia.But
attemptstouseparticipatorydesignintechnicalcommunicationandelsewherehavebeen
hamperedbecauseparticipatorydesignhastypicallybeenseenasanorientationorfield
ratherthanamethodologywithitsownmethods,techniques,andacceptablerangeof
researchdesigns.Inthisarticle,Iworkwitharangeofparticipatorydesignsourcesto
describeitasamethodologyusefulfortechnicalcommunicators.Afterprovidingthehistorical
andmethodologicalgroundingforunderstandingparticipatorydesignasamethodology,I
describeitsresearchdesigns,methods,criteria,andlimitations.Finally,Iprovideguidancefor
applyingittotechnicalcommunicationresearch.

AdditionalComments
Participatorydesignisaresearchmethodologythatenablesuserstoparticipatedirectlyinthe

developmentprocessandfortechnicalcommunicatorstolearnfromandaboutactualend
users.Byobtainingthisparticipationthroughoutthedevelopmentprocess,moreeffective
systemsanddocumentationcanbedeveloped.Thisparticipatoryresearchlendsitselfwellto
theopensystemsofdocumentationlaidoutbySpinuzziandZachryin2000.Byenabling
userstoparticipateinthedocumentationprocess,innumerableresearchopportunitiesare
openedfortechnicalcommunicators.Thechallengeliesinunderstandingtheaffordancesand
limitationsposedbytheseresearchopportunitiesinordertodrawvalidconclusionsandmake
effectivedesigndecisionsgoingforward.
______________________________________________________________________

Usability: The Expanded Role of Technical Communicators and Its

Place in Open Systems of Documentation
______________________________________________________________________
Grice,R.,HartDavidson,B.(2002).Mappingtheexpandinglandscapeofusability:The
caseofdistributededucation.
ACMJournalofComputerDocumentation,26(4),
159167.doi:10.1145/882061.882062

Authors'Abstract
Astheenvironmentsinwhichweusetechnologybecomemorecomplexandmorediverse,
weneedtoextendandexpandournotionofusabilitytoincludeabroadspectrumofusers
anduseractivities.WetakeasanexamplethecaseofRensselaerPolytechnicInstitute's
distributededucationprogramforhumancomputerinteraction(HCI).WhileHCIisthesubject
matterforthecourses,thecoursesthemselvespresentachallengingcasestudyinHCI
usability.

AdditionalComments
TheauthorsstartbyclaimingthatSullivan'scalltoactionin"Beyondanarrowconceptionof
usabilitytesting"hasbeenrealized.However,thebroadertechnologicalenvironmentswhich
workersinhabitposegreaterchallengesfortechnicalcommunicatorsintermsof
understandingandadvocatingforusability.Thesechallengeslieinthefactthatincreasingly
complexsystemscreatemanymorewaysforusabilitytofail.Thesepotentialpitfallsmustbe
takenintoaccountwhencreatinganopensystemofdocumentationposedbySpinuzziand
Zachry.Whilethistypeofsystemcreatesnewopportunitiesforusersandfortechnical
communicatorsasusabilityprofessionals,italsocreatesnewandunexploredpitfallsfor
usability.
______________________________________________________________________
Johnson,R.R.,Salvo,M.J.,Zoetewey,M.W.(2007).Usercenteredtechnologyin
participatoryculture:Twodecades"beyondanarrowconceptionofusabilitytesting".
IEEETransactionsonProfessionalCommunication,50(4),
320332.
doi:10.1109/TPC.2007.908730

Authors'Abstract

TwentyyearsafterthepublicationofPatriciaSullivansBeyondanarrowconceptionof
usabilitytestingintheIEEETRANSACTIONSONPROFESSIONALCOMMUNICATION,
threescholarsallSullivansstudentsreectonthehistoryanddevelopmentofusability
testingandresearch.FollowingSullivan,thisarticlearguesthatusabilitybridgesthedivide
betweenscienceandrhetoricandassertsthatusabilityismosteffectivewhenitrespectsthe
knowledgemakingpracticesofavarietyofdisciplines.Byinterrogatingtrendsinusability
method,theauthorsargueforadenitionofusabilitythatreliesonmultipleepistemologiesto
triangulateknowledgemaking.Thearticleopenswithabriefhistoryofthedevelopmentof
usabilitymethodsandarguesthatusabilityrequiresabalancebetweenempiricalobservation
andrhetoric.Usabilityinterpretshumanactionandisenrichedbyarticulatingcontextand
acceptingcontingency.Usabilityreliesoneffectivecollaborationandcooperationamong
stakeholdersinthedesignoftechnology.Ultimately,professionalandtechnical
communicationscholarsarebestpreparedtocoinnewknowledgewithalongandwideview
ofusability.

AdditionalComments
FollowingonSullivans"Beyondanarrowconceptionofusabilitytesting,"Johnsonetalpick
upSullivansworkbycontinuingtoargueforthesharedinterestsofscienceandrhetoricin
usabilitytesting.Forusabilitytestingtobetrulyeffective,itcannotbeboxedinbyone
particularfield.Despitethefactthatusabilityhastraditionallybeenconsideredasascientific
activity,theauthorsargue(asdidSullivan)thatthisperspectiveignoresthehumanaspectof
thedevelopmentprocess.Instead,theyclaimthat,becauseofouruniqueroleasuser
advocates,technicalcommunicatorsareabletobridgethegapbetweenscienceandculture
inordertoimproveactualusability.Aspartofthisprocess,actuallycommunicatingwithour
users(andunderstandingthemostrelevantaspectsofthatcommunication)iscrucialtoour
abilitytobeeffectiveusabilityspecialists.
______________________________________________________________________
Sullivan,P.A.(1989).Beyondanarrowconceptionofusabilitytesting.
IEEE
TransactionsonProfessionalCommunication,32(4),
256264.doi:10.1109/47.44537

Author'sAbstract
Construednarrowly,usabilitytestingofdocumentationcanbelimitedtovalidatingthe
usabilityofanearlycompleteddraft.Thispaperexploreswaysthattechnicalcommunication
cantakeabroaderviewofusabilityandthensituatenewapproachesandstudies.
Appropriatelysituated,thisbroaderinterpretationcangivetechnicalcommunicatorswaysto
talkwithothersinterestedinusabilityandcanbuildaplatformforanunderstandingof
usabilityresearchthatlooksbeyond"testingdraftsforusability"tothetoughissuesdriving
usabilityresearch.

AdditionalComments
Sullivansargumentsforincludingtechnicalcommunicatorsinusabilitytestingeffortsare
rootedinherbeliefthat,someoftheusabilityproblemsindocumentationarereallysystemor
interfaceproblems"(p.1)Thisiscrucialconsideringourfocusonunderstandingouraudience

usabilitytestingmarksanentrypointforunderstandingandadvocatingforourusers,our
audience.Inotherwords,byparticipatinginusabilitytestingfromthebeginning,technical
communicatorscanhelpsolveuserproblemsattherootratherthantryingtopatchoverthem
attheendoftheprocesswithdocumentation.Inaddition,Sullivanclaimsthatbecauseofour
focusonanalyzingandempathizingwithouraudience(users),wearewellpositionedto
advocatefortheneedsofthoseuserswithinthedevelopmentprocess.

Sullivanalsomentionsthat,"ifwetakeabroaderviewofusability,thenwemustdealwitha
floodofinformation,notallofwhichisultimatelyrelevant."Thisrelatesdirectlytothe
implicationsofassessingusabilityviaSpinuzziandZachry'sopensystemofdocumentation.If
weexpandourviewofusabilitytoincorporateallpossibleinteractionpointswithusers(social
media,forums,onlinetechnicalsupport,etc.),theresultisamassivefloodofinformation.The
trick,then,isdeterminingwhatisrelevant.Partofthiscomesfromnotfocusingtoointentlyon
specificusersandinsteadtrackingbroadertrends.Whilethereisntaspecificnormaluser,
thereareusabilityissuesthatimpactabroadernumberofusers,whichareprobablythemost
pressingissuestosolve.
______________________________________________________________________
Tuffley,D.(2009).Mindthegap.
InternationalJournalofSociotechnologyand
KnowledgeDevelopment,1(1),
5969.doi:10.4018/jskd.2009010103

Author'sAbstract
TheapplicationofSocioTechnicaltheoryseekstoimprovethealignmentbetweenthe
technicalandsocialsubsystemsthatcompriseorganisations.Thedeveloperswhocreatethe
technicalsystemsandthepeoplewhousethesystemsaremanifestationsofthe
sociotechnicaldynamic.Yetagapexistsbetweenthesetwogroupsthatcreateasometimes
strongdynamictensionthatisaworthysubjectforresearch.Despitemanyyearsofstudy,the
UserDevelopergapseemsaspervasiveasever.Thisarticleexploresthenatureofthegap,
andproposessomepracticalsolutions.

AdditionalComments
AsTuffleylaysout,thereisaninherentgapbetweendevelopersandendusers.Themain
componentofthisgapliesinalackofcommunicationbetweenthesetwogroups.Inorderto
bridgethisgap,Tuffleyseesaneedforafacilitatorabletocommunicateeffectivelywithboth
groups.Technicalcommunicators'combinationofskillsmakethemuniquelyqualifiedtoact
asfacilitatorstotraversethisgap.Thiscommunicationcanbemadeevenmoreeffective
whentechnicalcommunicatorsparticipateinusabilitytestingaslaidoutbySullivanandlater
Johnsonetal,inordertoserveasmoreinformedandpersuasiveuseradvocates.
______________________________________________________________________
Clark,D.,Cook,K.C.,Faber,B.D.,Zachry,M.(2001).Thechangingfaceoftechnical
communication:Newdirectionsforthefieldinanewmillenium.
Proceedingsofthe
19thannualinternationalconferenceoncomputerdocumentation,USA,
248260.
doi:10.1145/501516.501573

AuthorsAbstract
Inthispanelsession,theauthorsidentifyfourdifferentfactorsshapingthefutureoftechnical
communication:usercentereddesign,corporateuniversities,crossdisciplinarycollaboration,
andknowledgemanagement.Theauthorseachaddresshowfactorsonceconsidered
externaltothefieldoftechnicalcommunicationarenowbecomingthoroughlyintegratedwith
it.Thesefourstudies,inconjunction,suggesthowthefieldoftechnicalcommunicationis
becomingincreasinglycomplexandhowparticipants(practitioners,researchers,and
educators)willneedtoadapttothisnewterrain.
______________________________________________________________________

Analyzing the Effectiveness of an Open System of Documentation

______________________________________________________________________

Bean,N.,Elizalde,E.,Novick,D.G.(2007).Towardamoreaccurateviewofwhenand
howpeopleseekhelpwithcomputerapplications.Proceedingsofthe25thannualACM
internationalconferenceonDesignofcommunication,USA,95102.doi:
10.1145/1297144.1297165

AuthorsAbstract
Basedon40interviewsand11onsiteworkplaceobservationsofpeopleusingcomputer
applicationsatwork,weconfirmthatuseofprintedandonlinehelpisverylowandfindthat
providinggreaterdetailofcategoriessolutionmethodscanpresentamorerealisticpictureof
users'behaviors.Observedstudyparticipantsencounteredausabilityproblemonaverage
aboutonceevery75minutesandtypicallyspentaboutaminutelookingforasolution.
Participantsconsumedmuchmoretimewhentheywereunawareofadirectwayofdoing
somethingandinsteadusedlesseffectivemethods.Comparisonofresultsfromdifferent
datacollectionmethodssuggeststhatinterviews,andprobablysurveys,providelessreliable
viewsofusers'problemsolvingbehaviorsthandoparticipatoryevaluationanddirect
observation.

AdditionalComments
Whendesigninganopensystemofdocumentation,thereareinnumerablemethodsfor
providingdocumentationfromonlineforumstotutorialstotechnicalsupportarticles.Inorder
todevelopadocumentationsystemthatallowsflexibilityandmaintainability,itisimportantto
understandwhenandhowusersareseekinghelpfromdocumentationinthefirstplace.As
theauthorslayout,itisdifficulttoobtainrepresentativeexamplesofuseractivity.Thisis
particularlypoignantwhentryingtodrawconclusionsbasedonobservationsofuser
participationinopensystemsofdocumentation.Anadditionalpointcomesfromthefactthat
userswilloftenmuddlethroughinefficientworkprocessesinsteadofseekinghelp.Inorderto
haveaneffectivesystemofdocumentationtheavailabledocumentationandmethodsfor
interactingwiththatdocumentationmustbemoreattractiveandseemeasierthanmuddling
through.
______________________________________________________________________

Gurak,L.J.,Silkner,C.M.(1997).Technicalcommunicationresearch:Fromtraditional
tovirtual.
TechnicalCommunicationQuarterly,6(4),
403418.

AuthorsAbstract
Researchersintechnicalcommunicationhaverecentlybeguntotakeadvantageofthe
interactionstakingplaceviacomputermediatedcommunicationasarichsourceforresearch.
Yet,althoughresearchincyberspaceisgrowing,therearefewguidelinesforresearchersto
follow.Thisarticlereviewsthreeformsoftechnicalcommunicationresearchmethods
(ethnography,rhetoricalanalysis,andsurveys)andraisespreliminaryissuestoconsider
whenusingsuchresearchmethodsincyberspace.Theseissuesincludeprivacyandauthor
permissions.

AdditionalComments
Theauthor'sprovideawaytoconsiderresearchingtheeffectivenessofaopensystemof
documentationthatreliesuponnumerouscomputermediatedcommunicationmethods.While
thesemethodsofdocumentationcanprovide,astheauthorsstate,arichsourceforresearch,
italsorequiresextraconsideration.Thepotentialsolutionslaidoutbytheauthorshavebeen
furthercomplicatedbytransformationsintheInternetoverthepastdecade.However,they're
instinctsthattechnicalcommunicatorswillneedtolearntodoresearchinonlinecommunities
hasprovenvalid,andthey'rerecommendationsprovideasoundstartingpointforconsidering
howtoconductresearchintotheeffectivenessofanopensystemofdocumentation.
______________________________________________________________________

Potts,L.(2009).Usingactornetworktheorytotraceandimprovemultimodal
communicationdesign.
TechnicalCommunicationQuarterly,18(3),
281301.
10.10.1080/10572250902941812

Author'sAbstract
Duringtheaftermathofrecentdisasters(bothnaturalandhumanmade),peoplehave
communicatedbycobblingtogetheravailablesocialsoftwareresourcesrelyingonthe
capabilitiesofInternettoolssuchasblogs,newssites,andFlickr.Examiningtheuseofsocial
softwaretakingplaceaftertheLondonbombingsofJuly7,2005,Iproposeamethodby
whichwecanstudyusersliterateappropriationstoshapethedevelopmentofmore
accommodatingcommunicationsystems.

AdditionalComments
Pott'sanalysisofthenetworkcreatedviaFlickrprovidesinsightintothevalueand
shortcomingsofthistypeofsocialmediabasedcommunicationmethod.Italsoexemplifies
theabilityofuserstomoldasysteminordertomakeitworkableratherthanstayingwithinthe
boxofitsintendeduse.Thistypeofusageprovidesinsightsintothevalueofcreatinga
userbasedopensystemofdocumentstotrytomirrorusersdesiredandactualusagerather
thanaproscribed,smallerusages.Pott'sworkalsogivesamodelofhowparticipationinother
similaronlinecommunitiescanbetracked,measured,andanalysedtoassistinthe

developmentofsimilarfuturesystems.Thistypeofanalysisisusefulindeterminingthe
effectivenessofanonline,opensystemofdocumentation.
______________________________________________________________________

Welty,C.J.(2011).Usageofandsatisfactionwithonlinehelpvs.searchenginesforaid
insoftwareuse.Proceedingsofthe29thACMinternationalconferenceonDesignof
Communication,USA,203210.doi:10.1145/2038476.2038516

AuthorsAbstract
Computerusershavelongbeenfrustratedbysoftwareproblems.ItisunusualthattheHelp
menuactuallyhelpswiththesoftwareproblemstheyhave.Atthesametime,computer
sciencestudentsandprofessionalshavebeenusingsearchenginestogethelpwiththe
complexsoftwaretheyuse.Theuseofsearchenginestogethelpwithsoftwarebyboth
computerscientistsandstudentsinotherdisciplinesisinvestigated.Studentsfromall
disciplinestestedwerefoundtouseandbemoresatisfiedbysearchenginesthanHelp.
Furtherinvestigationshowedthat,generally,studentswenttootherpeoplemorethanHelpor
searchenginesbutfoundsearchenginesandpeopletobethemostsatisfactorysourcesof
help.RecommendationsaremadetoimproveHelpsystemsbyincorporatingaspectsof
searchengines.

AdditionalComments
Thisarticleprovidesadditionalinsightstowardhowpeoplelookforhelpfromsoftware
documentationandwhattripsthemup.AccordingtoWelty,searchenginesarefrequently
preferredtoofficialmethodsofdocumentationduetofamiliarity,easeofuse,andperceived
abilitytoquicklyobtaintherequiredinformation.Thekeysolutionhereistoprovideusers
multipleaccesspointstodocumentationthatprovidethemostopportunitytoeasilyfindthe
requiredinformationorlevelofhelp,similartothatfoundinasearchengine.Thismeans
relyingonmultiplesourcesandgenres,asinagenreecology,ratherthanasinglehelp
module.
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