Technical Translation: Usability Strategies for Translating Technical Documentation

Entry 
Beginner 
Intermediate 
Power 
Outsider 
Figure 6: Technical User Information Curve 
Although Erikson’s Psychosocial Curve aids visualising a person’s social de-
velopment, it can also be applied to user learning in conjunction with the 
Technical Information User Curve
. The stages on this curve are: 
Trust 
Users need to trust in the information and be confident that it will work. 
Otherwise users are likely to stop there and then (cf. Schneiderman 
1998:12-13). At this stage, users follow instructions to the letter. For users 
to proceed beyond this stage, they need to have faith in the instructions and 
be confident that they will have the anticipated outcome. Users need con-
stant reassurance and need to feel that their environment is predictable and 
reliable. 
Self-confidence 
Users begin to feel less exposed and more confident as regards their abilities. 
They come to have more faith in the information contained in a user 
guide. This is a critical stage in the development process because if at any 
stage the trust built up is broken, i.e. users are given incorrect or faulty in-
formation, the user will lose confidence in the instructions and the product 
and may not use either again. 
Initiative 
At this stage users are confident and knowledgeable and can comfortably 
use the product without assistance, prompting or recourse to the user 
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Understanding Users 
guide. The user guide becomes a useful but non-essential source of infor-
mation which users can refer to if necessary. 
Competence 
With more experience, users become more confident and begin using 
knowledge for different tasks and applying skills in different contexts. 
Figure 7: Erikson s Psychosocial Curve 
If we compare the two curves we can see the psychological states and in-
formation requirements of users as they progress from novice to expert. 
The aim of a user guide is, therefore, to guide users along these curves 
through the various stages of learning. In order to do this, the user guide 
must take into account the various cognitive factors which affect how users 
process and store knowledge.