By Dana P Skopal, PhD
The three steps in applying information are reading, comprehending and using the relevant information. Documents need to be read, and a reader has to be able to understand and use that information. Is there a difference between readability formulas and usability testing?
Readability formulas became prominent in the educational field when testing the suitability of text books (now there are reported to be more than 200 readability formulas). For each school level the text needed to be clear for the students to use the material and learn. Thus the purpose of the readability formulas was to gauge if the content could be read and understood. By understanding the content a student could then learn and use the information. But the formulas are usually based on sentence length and number of syllables, not the meaning or placement of the words.
Usability testing has generally been done when testing how people use a new product and its written instructions or testing how people locate information on a website. The aim of the testing is to identify any ‘usability’ problems, and see if the user can follow the information and properly use the product.
In the workplace, however, for government or business information documents, a reader not only needs to understand the content but often they need to act on that information. The reader needs to use the information, and if they cannot follow the content or steps, the writer has arguably failed in making the document fit for purpose. Hence document usability testing can assist writers in understanding how different readers may use the text, especially if they are writing for a broad audience such as the public.
Document usability testing can investigate if a reader can find all the information they need to act on and whether document design, including the order of information, assists or hinders them. A writer is usually familiar with the content and may make assumptions about how a reader should digest the information. These assumptions can make the document difficult for a reader to follow, and any problems can surface during usability testing. Testing even with six to ten readers can give a writer valuable information about the clarity of the message (see Schriver, K. A. (1997). Dynamics in document design: Creating texts for readers. New York: John Wiley.).
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