Technical Translation: Usability Strategies for Translating Technical Documentation

Cognetics 
Ergonomics is the design of machines to take into account the physical 
variability of humans. For example, we know that a human cannot possibly 
be expected to press two buttons positioned three metres apart at the same 
time. With our knowledge of the human body and the standard level of 
variation among different humans, we engineer our physical world to suit 
our needs and capabilities. Similarly, we need to engineer our world to 
conform to our mental capabilities and limitations. Essentially, what we are 
g
the term ergonomics is used primarily to refer to the physical aspects of 
human-orientated design. 
A key factor which is frequently overlooked by software designers, engi-
neers and even users is that computers are supposed to be tools which assist 
humans in doing something else. Computers should, therefore, reflect the 
needs, capabilities and limitations of the humans who use them. As Faulk-
seconds and you would not design an interface that requires such an abil-
and access knowledge – even how we read. 
The main challenge facing software manufacturers is to produce systems 
which people really want, need and can use despite the complexity of the 
task being performed (Faulkner 1998:129). While decisions as regards what 
people want and need from a product are usually based on economic factors 
and made by people other than the actual system designers, ensuring the us-
ability of systems remains the primary focus of cognetics.
It is clear that efforts to ensure usable and successful documentation need 
to be made from the very start and it would be extremely helpful if the ob-
stacles to usable documentation are overcome from the outset. With this in 
mind, it would be useful to discuss the goals which must be achieved in or-
der for an interface, in this case a user guide, to be regarded as usable. We 
will then examine the way in which readers use user guides in order to un-
derstand the cognitive processes and effort involved. This will help us iden-
tify areas where we can focus our efforts. 
Cognetics 153
ner (1998:2) says, a computer “has to play up to [users’] strengths and com-
pensate for their weaknesses”. Raskin (2000:10) maintains “you do not 
expect a typical user to be able to multiply two 30-digit numbers in five 
ity”. But this is an obvious example. Other factors are more subtle and 
relate to the way we perceive and process information, solve problems, learn 
i
neering
or 
cognetics
. In reality, cognetics is a branch of ergonomics but 
-
talking about is an ergonomics of the mind. This is known as 
cognitive en

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Usability Engineering