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Subject:Re: usability study From:Steven Brown <stevenabrown -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Wed, 1 Dec 2004 08:43:01 -0800 (PST)
Lyndsey,
Maybe you can structure your review with more clearly
labeled sections for "strengths" and "areas for
improvement."
Taking a hint from some of the folks on this listserv,
I would highlight the existence and value of the
substantive content you've found in your review. Many
companies publish documents with poor content, so I
would emphasize to this client that they're in a very
favorable situation.
The section outlining areas for improvement could be
introduced in a positive way, explaining that despite
all of the great content, its usability is diminished
because of poor formating, imprecise organization, or
whatever the problems are. Since your review is
ultimately about usability and improving it, that's
where your focus should be (and I would hope the
client doesn't mind even highly critical feedback).
You might downplay the "minor" formatting errors you
mentioned so the client's focus isn't lost on minutia
such as not indenting paragraphs, using the wrong
bullet, using two spaces after periods, or whatever.
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