Technical Translation: Usability Strategies for Translating Technical Documentation

Interfaces 
When we speak about 
user interfaces
many people assume we are referring 
specifically to the graphical user interfaces (GUI) of modern computers. 
While GUIs are perhaps one of the most common and recognisable types 
of interface, they are precisely that – types of interface. The reality is that 
151
Accommodating the diverse human perceptual, cognitive, and motor 
abilities is a challenge to every designer…the presence of a computer is 
only incidental to the design; human needs and abilities are the guiding 

---

not all interfaces have windows, icons and menus: interfaces can be found 
on VCRs, mobile phones, digital watches, ATM machines and even mi-
crowave ovens. It is very easy to give examples of interfaces but actually de-
fining interfaces is another matter. Card 
et al. 
(1983:4) state that it is easy to 
locate the interface between computer and human simply by starting at the 
CPU and tracing “a data path outward… until you stumble across a human 
being”. This, however, by the authors’ own admission is less than clear and 
we are left with no real clue as to the nature or boundaries of the interface.
Faulkner (1998:54) maintains that the human-computer interface medi-
ates between the user and the computer system. Again, this is somewhat 
vague. Perhaps we should look to the function of the interface in order to 
understand what an interface is. Bødker (1991:77) proposes that “the basic 
role of the user interface is to support the user in acting on an object or 
with a subject”. She continues by saying that a good user interface allows 
users to focus on the task at hand rather than on other objects or subjects. 
So, like the software system itself, the purpose of interfaces is to allow us to 
do something – in this case, to use the system. In other words, an interface 
is a tool or a means to an end. Such a view is echoed by Raskin (2000:2) 
who defines interfaces as “the way that you accomplish tasks with a prod-
uct”. Perhaps one of the clearest and most useful definitions of an interface 
is that provided by Preece (1994:13): 
contact both physically and cognitively (Preece 1994:13). 
Admittedly, the above definition of interfaces is still rather vague in terms 
of concrete physical details but it is sufficiently detailed in terms of function 
to allow for variations in the physical characteristics of interfaces and their 
areas of use (as mentioned above). This flexibility is essential when we con-
sider the case of software user guides. Ostensibly, the purpose of such 
guides is to teach users how to use a software product. Without such train-
ing, many users would not be able to use the software; although a few may 
try to use it by a process of trial and error although they are likely to have 
to be less efficient in their learning than those who use the user guide. In 
other words, user guides facilitate the use of software products and in a 
sense become part of the human-computer interface. If we were to be very 
specific, the user guide would be an interface between the user and the 
software’s interface but it is more convenient to simply regard it as an ex-
tension of the overall human-computer interface.
152 Usability Engineering 
152
The user interface of a computer system is the medium through which a 
user communicates with the computer. […] the user interface can be 
thought of as those aspects of the system with which the user comes into 

---