A CD-ROM with a color version of the book
Average customer rating:
- we need more people reading stuff like this
- Fantastic book!
- This book is not a "how-to"
- A must read for anyone that communicates online or on paper
- Great insite into the Reader
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Human Factors for Technical Communicators
Marlana Coe
Manufacturer: Wiley
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ASIN: 0471035300 |
Book Description
A crash course in human factors theory and practice for technical communicators
If you're a technical writer, technical editor, documentation manager, user-interface designer, usability tester, or any other type of technical communication professional, you've probably found yourself becoming more and more involved in the development, design, and testing of technical communication products. In order to handle your expanded responsibilities effectively you need a solid grounding in human factors, the art and science of designing for people. And now this book gives it to you—fast.
First, expert Marlana Coe takes you on a fascinating tour of the burgeoning science of human factors. In terms that you can understand, she explains all about the psychology and physiology of how users access, learn, and remember information; the impact of colors, shapes, and patterns; learning styles; approaches and obstacles to problem solving; action structures; and more. And, with the help of real-life examples of various technical communication products, she vividly demonstrates what works, what doesn't, and why.
Then, she shows you how to apply what you've learned to create the best technical communication products possible. You'll find out how to:
- Analyze users' needs and learning styles
- Get and interpret user feedback and create partnerships with users
- Select the most effective layouts, colors, fonts, and graphics
- Build better navigational infrastructures
- Develop content that gives users everything they need to quickly identify and resolve problems
- Test and improve your product's usability
Customer Reviews:
we need more people reading stuff like this.......2003-10-08
I cannot tell you how many times, as a techwriter, and content developer, if you work on other people's stuff, edit the engineer's stuff...they think you are "Dumbing-it-down" or castrating it.
They make like they are working on the Next NOBEL PRIZE, and you dare touch their stuff!! How-dare-you! How could a lowly writer understand the full glory of their verbiage?
And the more obscure, passive and inpenetrable it is, the more it makes them look "more better smarter-est", the ole highschool "Baffle them with BS" ploy. If it's in pure ASCII text, even better! See, they are catering to the purest of Intelligencia...
So basically, the writer gets treated like a transcriptionist, or formatter, and god help you if you try to do your job.
And then the schmucks have the nerve to keep asking you back to help them, but keep undermining you.
Then they wonder why nobody likes to use their application. Hmmmmm! I wonder!
Fantastic book!.......2003-01-21
This book is extremely well done, and it can be applied to much more than writing. I think that the bulk of it applies to almost any kind of design, i.e getting to know the users, their needs, abilities, experience, etc. and then involving them in the design, getting feedback, establishing a partnership, etc. It's just the kind of up from the trenches stuff that managers would be wise to listen to but very rarely do. You can definitely sense the frustration the author has in technical writers being the band-aid applied to poor product design and cost-cutting, and she offers concrete alternatives when you have limitations.
I also love the recursiveness of it, in that she is writing the same thing she is also describing, so talk about reading between the lines! I could read it over and over, each time appreciating more and more how she followed her own advice.
This book is what I always look for in a book, because it starts from the beginning and ends at the end, with a clear trail of how it got there. The supporting introduction, glossary, index, notes and references are very well done.
This book is not a "how-to".......2002-04-24
Well, I just got this book. From the Preface: "This book is not a "how-to". This book is one level higher and deals with the cognitive psychological theory of designing and developing technical communication...". Thats not what I need. I looked for "how to' not for another academic book. Well this book is going to the return center.
A must read for anyone that communicates online or on paper.......2000-09-18
If you do any kind of writing for your job buy this book and read it cover to cover. With that said my review follows:
There are so many positives in this book that I will list the negatives first, there are few and very minor at that.
The cover has got to go. It does not represent the depth and wealth of the information inside. To be honest, it looked so poorly thought out and old, I felt the contents of the book must be too. Thankfully, I dropped my bias and was very pleasantly surprized.
The other negative may be my own personal preference, but I like the footnote detail at the bottom of the page, so when I see it I don't have to scoot to the end of the chapter to see what it is. This is how good the book was, I read all the footnotes and references too.
Marlana Coe has created a book that I hope not only do Technical writers from all over read, but Human Factors professionals too. As a fanatic-pursuer of documentation meeting its goal to communicate, this book says it all. The usability measurement on documentation is whether or not it allows the author to communicate to the reader and Marlana Coe shows you just how to do that. In fact, she shows you while doing that herself.
I bought this book because as a Human Factors professional, I find we do not practice what we preach. We review a product and come up with wonderful ideas to make it better and then proceed to hide that in a document that is not geared for the reader. Many technical reports, even the ones that only have a small group of customers, don't meet those customers needs. There are no pictures, tables and diagrams and worst of all no logical organization for the reader to create a structure around the information. The documents are geared for the writer to regurgitate data, not for the reader to absorb it. Granted this is not all, but too much of a majority in a group of people that should know better. Most human factors professional know, how to increase usability of everyone else's product but their own: the technical report they create on products they review. This book bridges that gap, for HF professionals especially. Yes, I'm including myself in this category (I did buy the book after all).
For all the rest of you, this gives you reasons for all the practices that good technical writers should use. From the amount of white space to use to the number of fonts and colors. There are also suggestions on organization and on construction of these documents. One section discussed content and the importance of context of usage. This is something, I never really thought of that much. (Oops).
Another thing the author has done was fashion a book on a technical subject and made it readable. This is something she also covers in her book. Her language is natural and she has not fallen into the trap of using technical words or ones that may escape the average readers vocabulary.
In a word: Fantastic!
Great insite into the Reader.......2000-04-04
Coe does a great job of introducing the reader to the writer. There are so many things that we as writers don't think about, or take for granted when we write. This book really opened my eyes not only as a writer but also as a reader to the importance of understanding how people read, understand, learn, and absorb information.
Book Description
A disturbing share of technological disasters are caused by incompatibilities between the way things are designed and the way people actually perceive, think, and act. Structurally sound aircraft plummet to the earth, supertankers run aground in calm weather, and the machines of medical science maim unsuspecting patients - - all because designers sometimes fail to reflect the characteristics of the user in their designs.
Designers and the public alike are realizing that many human' errors are more aptly named designed-induced' errors. Most consumers experience the frustration of using many new products; amusing stories about programming a VCR, operating a personal computer, or finding the headlight switch on a rental car are heard in everyday conversation. The problems consumers experience with modern everyday things are shared by the users of large-scale technologies where the consequences of design can go well beyond simple matters of inconvenience or amusement.
In the new second edition of Set Phasers on Stun' and Other True Tales of Design, Technology, and Human Error, noted designer and author Steven Casey has assembled 20 factual and arresting stories about people and their attempts to use modern technological creations. Although the operator or pilot usually gets blamed for a big disaster, the root cause can frequently be found in subtle characteristics of the device's human interface.' Technological disasters can often be traced directly to the interplay between people and the design of a device - - be it an airliner cockpit, the controls in an industrial plant, a spacecraft's instruments, a medical system, a nuclear reactor, or even a commercial dishwashing machine.
The most effective way to convey the consequences of design-induced human error is with a good story and just the right level of technical detail, and this is what Casey has done in his new book. As stated by Alphonse Chapanis, one of the founders of the human factors engineering discipline, Set Phasers on Stun is A tour de force. A collection of gripping and often alarming true stories meticulously documented and skillfully told about design-induced human errors. It should be required reading for all engineers and designers, and everyone else concerned about the ways our modern technological creations can affect our everyday lives. Skylab-4 astronaut Gerald Carr agrees: The book is ...an engrossing tour through the world of human susceptibility to subtle variations in environment and in design.
Customer Reviews:
Entertaining and Educational.......2006-06-20
This book is very entertaining and an easy read. It's made up of several short cases of how poor user design resulted in catastrophic results. For those who deal with design and human factors occasionally, the stories stay pretty fresh in the mind and serve as a great reminder to ensure reasonable effort is put into human factor design aspects of projects.
good, sad.......2005-09-29
this is a very interesting book, a little on the depressing side to think how many people died from these accidents, but it really shows the power that good and intelligent design has to offer.
worth the read, over time anyhow. all in one chunk might be hard to handle.
Ringside Seat at Rubber-necking disaster fest.......2005-08-24
Riveting, yes.
Sometimes macabre.
The bottom line is that you will have a tough time putting this book down due to the "rubber necking" phenomenon. The author puts you ringside to the action, where we are compelled to look in as events unfold. Sometimes tragic, but mostly simple mistakes - which unfold damatically.
Phasers on Stun - is compelling because it makes the reader think. Sure, we could use a bit more denouement, but you will think: "what if..., why didn't they...., how come they..."
We all wish we had 20-20 foresight, but these well researched, and most importantly, well told tales offer us 20-20 hindsight. Those of us who do not know the past, are condemned to repeat it. read this, especially if you make things work.
Dave Rachford, CPA
Engaging and informative.......2005-02-05
A number of friends had recommended "Set Phasers on Stun" to me as a good book on technology and human error. The 20 short stories in the book cover everything from the accidental launching of a rocket to some horrific accidents in hospitals. Each story is written in a way that takes the reader on an engaging, informative, and, quite often, wild ride. Casey's writing style works perfectly with this short story format. I highly recommend "Set Phasers on Stun" to anyone interested in design and technology, or anyone who likes reading very good short stories. The best part is that all of the events covered
by the book are true.
A Disappointment.......2003-11-12
I had great expectations for this book, and on one it did deliver: the expectation that I wouldn't be able to put it down. I didn't, and 2-3 hours later I was basically horrified and afraid to do anything. That's because it is a catalog of horrible disasters that does make for gripping reading, but it left me vaguely unsatisfied and apprehensive that something was about to go wrong. I would have liked at least a little discussion after each episode. Instead it just stopped cold after each story, which I guess is an effective way to just let the reader reflect and draw his own conclusions, but left me with a cold, unsatisfied feeling. It also doesn't help that you pretty much know how each story is going to end. But if you are looking for a catalog of the anatomy of disasters, it excels at that, due to the very clear and readable writing. The title is very clever and well-considered - it kept me from forgetting it once I heard it.
Average customer rating:
- Essential
- A must-have for students and practitioners in human factors!
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Human Factors in Systems Engineering (Wiley Series in Systems Engineering and Management)
Alphonse Chapanis
Manufacturer: Wiley-Interscience
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0471137820 |
Book Description
Human Factors in Systems Engineering shows how to integrate human factors into the design of tools, machines, and systems so that they match human abilities and limitations. Unlike virtually all other books on human factors, which leave the implementation of general guidelines to engineers and designers with little or no human factors expertise, this unique book shows that the proper role of the human factors specialist is to translate general guidelines into project specific design requirements to which engineers can design. Again, while other human factors books ignore the standards, specifications, requirements, and other work products that must be prepared by engineers, this book emphasizes the methods used to generate the human factors inputs for engineering work products, and the points in the development process where these inputs are needed.
Comprehensive in its scope, Human Factors in Systems Engineering uses the systems engineering process to provide a broad understanding of the way human factors are used in the development process. It describes the full cycle of a design and shows what human factors inputs engineers and designers need at each stage of development.
Well-organized and clearly written, this invaluable text is fully supported by over a hundred illustrations, thirty tables, handy appendices, and extensive bibliographies. Its practical, hands-on approach makes it an indispensable resource for professionals and advanced students in human factors, ergonomics, industrial engineering, and systems engineering.
A unique, step-by-step guide to the application of human factors in the system development process
Human Factors in Systems Engineering
Unlike most current texts which provide general human factors recommendations but leave their interpretation to designers who are usually not trained for it, this book shows the reader how to prepare project specific system requirements that engineers can use easily and effectively. In addition, it fully explains the various work products—the standards and specifications—that engineers must produce during development, and shows what human factors inputs are required in each of them. Focusing on the entire systems engineering process, Human Factors in Systems Engineering offers professionals and advanced students a fresh, much-needed approach to the role of human factors in the design of tools, machines, and systems.
Customer Reviews:
Essential.......2001-12-11
Essential reading for the pragmatic, sensible and successful application of Human Factors to anyone in industry.
This book has provided me with information of how Human Factors should be applied to the development of a system in the 'real engineering' world. Invaluable. Brilliant. If you are in 'Human Factors' you NEED this book.
A must-have for students and practitioners in human factors!.......1999-08-31
Alphonse Chapanis is one of the founding fathers of the field of human factors engineering and probably its most important author. His numerous books and publications over the past half century serve as a foundation for those engaged in the design of user-friendly tools, systems and environments. Now he presents what may be his best work, a comprehensive description of how the human factors design process actually proceeds.
While most human factors texts have concentrated on questions of describing and optimizing human performance, Chapanis goes one step farther. The goal of this text is to show the human factors practitioner precisely how their inputs should be included at every stage of the engineering design process. Effective coordination with design engineers from other disciplines is the key. Numerous entertaining and thought-provoking case studies are drawn from the authors's vast experience to add spice to the clearly written text.
To anyone starting a career in human factors engineering: Buy this book, read it from cover to cover, keep it on your desk and refer to it often.
Average customer rating:
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Design of Computing Systems (Advances in Human Factors/Ergonomics)
Manufacturer: North Holland
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 044482183X |
Book Description
A total of 2,183 individuals from industry, academia, research institutes, and governmental agencies from 43 countries submitted their work for presentation at the 7th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction held in San Francisco, in August 1997. Only those submittals which were judged to be of high scientific quality were included in the program. These two volumes contain papers addressing the latest research and application in the human aspects of design and use of computing systems.
Features of these volumes:
• Papers thoroughly cover the entire field of human-computer interaction, including the cognitive, social, ergonomic, and health aspects of work with computers.
• Major advances in knowledge and effective use of computers are addressed in a variety of diversified application areas, including offices, financial institutions, manufacturing, electronic publishing, construction, and health care.
Book Description
- Extending the scenario method beyond interface design, this important book shows developers how to design more effective systems by soliciting, analyzing, and elaborating stories from end-users
- Contributions from leading industry consultants and opinion-makers present a range of scenario techniques, from the light, sketchy, and agile to the careful and systematic
- Includes real-world case studies from Philips, DaimlerChrysler, and Nokia, and covers systems ranging from custom software to embedded hardware-software systems
Download Description
" Extending the scenario method beyond interface design, this important book shows developers how to design more effective systems by soliciting, analyzing, and elaborating stories from end-users
Contributions from leading industry consultants and opinion-makers present a range of scenario techniques, from the light, sketchy, and agile to the careful and systematic
Includes real-world case studies from Philips, DaimlerChrysler, and Nokia, and covers systems ranging from custom software to embedded hardware-software systems"
Book Description
Today, more and more Web sites are providing content in multiple languages for targeted countries, and more and more products are being designed for cultural differences in mind. However, the concept of cross-cultural design has not yet become a strong force in the practitioners' and educators' agenda. This book looks at techniques, software, tools, the current state of the art, and future directions that one needs to understand for a successful application of cross-cultural interface design. br br i Usability and Internationalization of Information Technology /i provides a bridge between theoretical foundations and practical examples, as well as guidelines for designing information technology for different cultures, languages, and locales. Written by some of the foremost practitioners from the United States, Europe, and Asia, the book is organized into three sections. It begins with a general introduction to the topic and discusses cultural considerations. Part II focuses on some aspects of design, cost justification and international usability evaluations. Part III covers three case studies on international user interface design. An appendix is included at the end of the book, providing a list of books and magazines published in the area of internationalization in the user interface design, project management, software design and development fields, as well as valuable resources, the leading journals, and the non-profit organizations that deal with internationalization.
Customer Reviews:
Good Job.......2007-06-08
not intended for people that don't want to go very deep in to the topic from many directions. if your not that type of reader then its a hard read but if you are then this is probably on of the better books out in the market in the subject. so if you interested in taking you're site to the next level and support or at least know about the options , this is a great start point.
4 and not 5 only because it was a hard read for me, although probably the only good book in the topic out but still is a hard read.
Average customer rating:
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Human Factors of Remotely Operated Vehicles, Volume 7 (Advances in Human Performance and Cognitive Engineering Research)
Manufacturer: JAI Press
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ASIN: 0762312475 |
Book Description
The commonly used terms, "unmanned" or "uninhabited," are misleading in the context of remotely operated vehicles. In the case of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), there are many people involved on the ground ranging from those operating the vehicle from a ground control station, to the people coordinating multiple UAVs in an air operations or air traffic control center.
The complexity of remote vehicle operations is also often underestimated and seen as a simple navigation task, neglecting the more complex functions associated with remote camera operations, data gathering, and even weapons activity. In addition, trends in the military and civilian sectors involving reduced staffing, increased number of vehicles to control, and integration with other operations are associated with critical human factors issues. For example, the integration of UAVs with manned aircraft in the national airspace poses numerous human factors challenges.
In summary, though these vehicles may be unmanned they are not unoperated, unsupervised, or uncontrolled. The role of the human in these systems is critical and raises a number of human factors research and design issues ranging from multiple vehicle control and adaptive automation to spatial disorientation and synthetic vision.
The purpose of this book is to highlight the pressing human factors issues associated with remotely operated vehicles and to showcase some of the state of the art human-oriented research and design that speaks to these issues. In this book the human components of the "unmanned" system take center stage compared to the vehicle technology that often captures immediate attention.
Book Description
Practical guidelines for the Ergonomic Design of Products and Facilities You'll find: Key Descisions to make at the conceptual design stage; Diagrams, charts and checklists; Data on cognitive skills, sensory capacities, mobility, strength, and dexterity; Tables of Engineering unit conversions and scientific constants; Designs that "fit the user"; Human Body size, reach, strength, reaction time, environmental stress resistance. Now revised and updated, this definitive guide--recognized worldwide as the leading source of ergonomics data and guidelines--is even more useful for integrating the human factor in the design of facilities, systems, products, and equipment. To help you ensure safe and efficient use, and prevent user error, injury, inconvenience, or dissatisfaction, the second edition of Human Factors Design Handbook includes step-by-step guidelines and valuable human factor data for identifying and accommodating the needs of people in architecture and the design of furnishings, equipment, consumer products, vehicles, machinery, highways and transportation.
Customer Reviews:
Good News!.......2000-10-06
A review of our book stated that the body measurement data came from 1960 Air Force studies. The reviewer should be pleased to know that the book actually contains some of the latest anthropometric data available for the U.S. population. Just before publication of the Human Factors Design Handbook, the U.S. Army completed measurements of nearly 9000 subjects. These data are contained in our book. While this is not a profile of the civilian population (male and female subjects ranged from age 18 to 51), it does provide fairly good estimates. Unfortunately, even now there is no comprehensive survey data for United States civilian population. Currently the Society of Automotive Engineers is coordinating a massive survey of United States and European civilian populations. The project participants include Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and several industrial partners. The survey is called the Civilian American and European Surface Anthropometry Resource, or CAESARTM and data should be available late in 2001.
Just before updating the Human Factors Design Handbook, the author completed development of NASA's Man-Systems Integration Standards. This is the NASA "bible" of human factors design guidelines. Readers should feel confident in that these resources and data (including anthropometrics) were integrated throughout the revised edition of the Human Factors Design Handbook.
A rerun with only a few new parts.......2000-08-22
As a Human Factors professional that owns the 1st addition, shortly after purchasing this version (2nd edition), I questioned my wisdom.
This book is about 200 pages shy of the original and not surprisingly repeats many of the same information as it's predecessor. Unfortunately, it gives us little more than dated information with a bit of new stuff tacked on.
What really dissappointed me was that the anthropometric data that is provided here, dates back to that of the original's 1960's data. What is the point of a new edition? The census data stated here is so dated it is ridiculous, both in composition as well as age. I wish I had known that this data was not updated prior to my investing in the new edition. I would not have purchased it.
I question the usefulness of data published in so recent a book based primarily on Air force personnel of the 60s. That type of data had it's day & was appropriate at it's original publishing. Today's Human Factors professional needs more diversified data that is more international in it's scope. For that matter, I'm certain 1960s air force personnel (who are screened for height and weight) hardly represent the year 2000 demographics of the United States much better.
I found it interesting that the same graphics that may have been the best you could do in the original were repeated in this new document. Couldn't they refresh some of the look, clean up some of the old graphs. As the original was, this document is a mix of font styles, graphics and inconsistent data presentation. Does this truly represent the user of the document well? I recognize presentation is not "everything" but on a second pass of the same information you could dress it a bit better at least.
The major addition predictably is the data surrounding workstations and computer usage, however, I'm questioning it's usefulness relative to the anthropometric data also here. Is this new data based on aged human measurement data too? Will it only fit the 1960 US air force man and woman?
I think this book would have been better printed as an addendum to the original version costing about $25. This way the workstation data could be added plus any items that are new.
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- Information Technology Project Management, Fourth Edition
- Information Technology Project Management, Fourth Edition
- Information Technology Project Management, Fourth Edition
- Information Technology Project Management, Fourth Edition
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Rich Dad's Advisors®: The ABC's of Building a Business Team That Wins: The Invisible Code of Hon
- History: Fiction or Science
- There Must Be a Pony in Here Somewhere: The AOL Time Warner Debacle and the Quest for the Digital Fu
- ABC
- Dog Train: A Wild Ride on the Rock-and-Roll Side
- Great American Stories: Ten Unabridged Classics
- Crinkleroot's Guide to Animal Tracking
- The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes, One Goal, and Less Than Four Minutes to Achieve It
- You CAN Teach Online! The McGraw Hill Guide to Building Creative Learning Environments
- Baldur's Gate: A Novelization
Human Error
Set Phasers on Stun: And Other True Tales of Design, Technology, and Human Error
