Audience Analysis & User- Centered Writing Week 2 Technical Communication, DAHMEN

Who uses Tech Com? Readers—reading manuals, job aids, reports Users—attempting to use equipment, software, machines Viewers—requiring visual aids to understand processes, products and steps Listeners—listening while performing tasks, learning new information through presentations Executives—making decisions Technicians—individuals who operate/repair equipment Experts—who communicate with each other

Describing a Discourse Community « a group of people who share certain language- using practices…the key term ‘discourse’ suggests a communicty bound together primarily by its uses of language, alothough bound perhaps by by other ties as well, geographical, socioeconomic, ethnic, professional and so on » --Bizzell, 1992, P. 222 in Gurak and Lannon, 2004 p.15

How do end-users differ? Expertise Knowledge Age Culture Language Role in organization External or internal audiences

Some Typical Audiences Scientists Engineers Administrators Managers Lawyers Users ‘the Public’

What is their Purpose in reading? To gain information To make a decision To learn how to perform a task

What information will help us gear our product to the appropriate user? By exploring and researching… Previous knowledge Receptivity towards subject Interest in subject Attitudes towards topic Attitudes towards your organization

Primary vs. Secondary… Purposes  Primary—first use of communication (teach a new hardware system, promotional vs. informational)  Secondary—broader applications (use as template for other hardware systems, promotion, credibility, image) Audiences  Primary—target audience for product (users of product at AT&T, doctors prescribing a medicine)  Secondary—potential audiences (users at other companies for similar product, patients)

Why do we care about Primary/Secondary Purposes and/or Audiences? Market product to wider audience Save time in future production Save money in future editing Make a more user-centered product with broad appeal

How can learning about the audience effect our output? Format Media Language Word choice or style Use of examples Length Genre of document

How do we learn about our audiences? Interviews Observation Questionnaires Subject Matter Experts Personal experience Previous feedback Cultural background Research Examining similar communication products

Methods of Gathering Information about your Audience Research Interviews Questionnaires Focus Groups

Interviews¹ Set of questions/’protocols’ Conducted in person, via telephone, (or IM) Can be anonymous or no Can have varied question types (open ended best) Can vary in length, usually 30 min ¹”Needs Analysis Tools.” Center for Education Integrating Science, Math and Computing. Georgia Int. of Tech. July 30, Sept. 04, 2003.

Interviews Good with complex/unclear topic Are relatively brief Can be altered easily Can help create empathy to purpose CONSPROS Can be seen as threatening May answer to ‘please’ you Questions may be biased Hard to schedule

Questionnaires Paper or web presentation of questions Can be anonymous Mailed or web based or ed Variety of questions possible Can vary in length Should take no more than min. to do

Questionnaires Good when anonymity is needed Efficient for respondents if short Can adapt to different audiences Many types of questions possible CONSPROS Easy to design but hard to perfect Lots of time to distribute, collect and analyze Not very flexible Low response rate

Focus Groups Set of questions asked to small group of people Usually done in person, possible over phone or videophone 4-7 people optimal Can be anonymous Can vary in length, usually less than 1 hour

Focus Groups Good with complex/unclear topic May be good with controversial topic for reaching consensus Questions can be open or defined Can help create empathy to purpose CONSPROS Time consuming to set up and conduct If range of status, some reluctance or resistance Questions may be biased Hard to schedule

Checklist for Audience Analysis¹ 1. Have I determined my explicit (primary) purpose for my product? To inform, provide basis for decision, instruct 2. Have I identified my readers? Experts, technicians, executives, novices, mixed 3. Have I determined their purpose in receiving the product? 4. Have I determined how much they know about the subject? 5. Have I determined what they need to know? 6. Do I know their level of interest? 7. What is their attitude towards the product or my organization? ¹ Adapted from: D. Pattow & W. Wresch. Communicating Technical Information. (NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998) 53.

How can we adapt our product to our audience?¹ Add information readers need to understand your document. Omit information your readers do not need. Change the level of the information you currently have. Add examples to help readers understand. Change the level of your examples. Change the organization of your information. ¹McMurray, David. ‘Audience Analysis’. Online Technical Writing. 1 September 2003,

Audience Adaptation, cont… Strengthen transitions. Write stronger introductions--both for the whole document and for major sections. Create topic sentences for paragraphs and paragraph groups. Change sentence style and length. Work on sentence clarity and economy. Use more or different graphics.

Audience Adaptation, cont. Break text up or consolidate text into meaningful, usable chunks. Add cross-references to important information. Use headings and lists. Use special typography, and work with margins, line length, line spacing, type size, and type style.

Learn More online… ml (Online Tech Com textbook) ml eportW/audience.html (OWL at Purdue University) eportW/audience.html (Principles on Online Design, Florida Gulf Coast University, application to Computers (Audience Analysis form from Dr. Laurie Drummond)

More Online resources and examples… sis.html (geared towards writing for online documentation) sis.html tioneducation/Files/esaa.pdf (sample report of audience analysis for US Government about nutrition for youth) tioneducation/Files/esaa.pdf (The Health Communication Unit, application to health issues)

Audience Analysis Assignment In groups of 2, address the following situation: an increasing number of first-year students are dropping out of your major because of low-grades, stress or inability to keep up with the work. Your task is to prepare a « survival guide » for incoming students. You need to create an audience analysis worksheet and summary following the questions and sections outlined in the handout given to you in class and also available at: (adapted from assignment in Gurak and Lannon 2004, p. 29