In TWC 401, a course dedicated to teaching students about the fundamentals of technical communication, one had to choose a technical document to assess its usability. As a former graphic design student, I decided to choose the Adobe Illustrator basics user guide.

 

With no experience prior to conducting a usability test, this was a learning curve. By looking at the guide through the lens as a first-time user of Adobe Illustrator, it was easier to pinpoint which things would have been confusing. Breaking down the improvements that needed to be made into categories, such as “Support” and “Graphics” made the process much easier, especially when it came to writing recommendations. The assignment was written in the form of a memo, so it was as if I was writing to Adobe and was a part of their team. I improved on my professional writing skills with this analysis, as well as learning how to properly conduct a usability test for a technical document.