EvalG1ssWebF2008

  Evaluating Secondary Literature (Web) **Usability and User Experience http://www.stcsig.org/usability/ **    **Publisher ** || Society for Technical Communications, Usability & User Experience Community, a professional society, and sub-group of the Society for Society for Technical Communications || || David J. Dick and Cheryl St. Charles are the current Editor and Website manager. These are elective positions from within the larger group and change on a regular basis. || || A forum for sharing information and experiences on issues related to usability and user-centered design. This site is the group’s home page || || A ‘How to’ website, used by professionals and students as a resource for discussing and creating information about using and creating user friendly technical writing in academia and industry || || Members or enquirers into the subject of usability and experience in Technical Communications. || || Not mentioned, but it is hosted by the Society of Technical Communication. There is a spot on the site asking visitors and new members to volunteer, leaving the impression that a mostly volunteer effort to keeps the website up and running. ||
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**Author(s) of Website** || ** Mary Deaton, Manager ** Education – MSE, Technical Communication, University of Washington Mr. Dick is a Senior Technical Writer || ||            The University of Washington is a four-year institution. It is classified as RU/VH (Research University/Very high research activity) by Carnegie. Education information for Mr. Dick was not located. || || Mary Deaton mmdeaton@mmdeaton.com David Dick Davidjdick2000@yahoo.com || || As the leadership of this site has a depth of practical experience in the field, it is reasonable to consider the information presented by the site credible. Users of this information, however, should be diligent and investigate the background of individual authors as well. ||
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 * Extensive experience in the fields of technical writing, usability and content design – including two positions with Microsoft
 * Currently, Ms. Deaton is Owner of Deaton Interactive Design, and Instructor of Technical Communication at Bellevue Community College, and Information Architect and Usability Specialist with Filter Talent and Contract Information Architect at Resources Online
 * Ms. Deaton has been a member of the Usability Professionals’ Association for eight years
 * David Dick, Asst. Manager, Newsletter Managing Editor/Publisher **
 * His research has led to two ISO standards – ISO 13407 and ISO 19241
 * Mr. Dick has been a member of STC since 1994, and has a long lists of achievements within the organization, including being named as Associate Fellow for the Washington, DC chapter in 2007, and co-founding the Belgium chapter in 1997 (he also served as President of that chapter)
 * Under his leadership, the Usability Interface Newsletter has consistently won awards for content and quality
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** Content ** The site offers an array of verifiable resources such as websites, books, newsletters and articles for users to reference. Some of the websites listed are [|Usability.gov], [|UseIt], and [|Information Design]. The creators of this website have dedicated a webpage that consists of recommended books and sources to provide inexperience users with more information regarding usability and interface design. Usability and User Experience website includes a various content that is drawn from other sources. This site contains quotes that were collected from the STC colleagues on a discussion list. || On the side navigational bar there is a list of menus and when expanded the reader is presented with descriptive sub-menus that link to more specific information. As the reader moves to a new topic/menu item on the navigational menu, the previous menu collapses to eliminate any confusion. When needed, the author includes sub-headings which allow the reader to quickly assess specific information. In some instances, the information is presented in a bulleted list so that the reader can easily scan the information and website. The author avoids long lengthy paragraphs and instead presents the information in short detailed paragraphs. Again, this makes for easy reading from the computer screen and keeps the reader engaged in the information. The author provides external links, when available, to various resources that have been cited through out the website. This allows the reader to quickly assess external information without having to perform any additional searches outside of the Usability and User Experience website. || Not only does the author provide resources for its English-language audience but the author also provides links to other usability websites in other languages such as French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Dutch. ||
 * ** Web Content Reliability: ** || This website was created by the Usability and User Experience Community which is an extension of STC (Society of Technical Communication), also referred to as the STC Usability SIG. The website’s address ends with .org which informs the reader that it is an organizational website. This also signifies that the information presented on this website will focus on a specific topic or discipline. Information that is presented on this site is up-to-date as the home page references articles that were published in May 2008 and there are list of 2008 conferences that can be found at the bottom of the page. The author makes it clear that the purpose of this website is to promote the practice of usability.
 * ** Website Organization and Quality: ** || This website appears to be well-designed. The navigational buttons are located on the side as well as the bottom of every web page. At the top left-corner of the web page there is an image with the name of the website that links back to the home page. If the reader hovers over the image, a pop-up appears with the text “STC Usability SIG Home”, informing the reader that they will be taken back to the home page of the website.
 * ** Content Coverage: ** || The STC Usability SIG website contains a comprehensive collection of information in reference to usability and user experience. The author provides the readers a list references to books, articles, bibliographic sites, and other external websites that can be easily accessed from the STC Usability SIG website.