Technical Translation: Usability Strategies for Translating Technical Documentation

Trust 
Self-confidence 
Initiative 
Competence 
148 
,

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Conclusions
Figure 8: Comparison of Erikson s Curve and the Technical Information Curve 
Conclusions 
This chapter began by defining usability as the 
ease
with which users can 
perform tasks 
effectively
and 
efficiently
and their level of 
satisfaction
with 
their work. Having discussed the various factors which contribute to usabil-
ity, we set about understanding the nature of usability. Usability means that 
products must take users’ mental abilities and limitations into account. To 
understand usability, it was necessary to explore the various systems and 
processes that make up human cognition. Human cognition is likened to an 
information processing system in that humans receive data or information 
from their surroundings which they then process. These processes enable 
humans to make sense of the information they require and to decide what, 
if anything, can be done with it. If a response is necessary, our cognitive 
processes help us select the appropriate course of action. Sight, the human 
sense which provides the most important sensory input in relation to user 
guides, was discussed and its capabilities and limitations were outlined.
We have seen that sensory input is subjected to several, often complex 
processes in short-term memory (STM). It is here that we decide on 
courses of action and from here that information passes on to long-term 
memory (LTM). Armed with this knowledge, we can see how it is that 
printed words are converted into information that we can use and how this 
information needs to be processed in order for us to remember or learn it. 
Of course, the flow of information from STM to LTM is not automatic,