Technical Translation: Usability Strategies for Translating Technical Documentation

Session 1: Familiarisation 
The pilot study was conducted in three sessions over the course of three 
weeks for a total of 2.5 hours. Session 1 was the “Familiarisation” stage of 
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the study. Based on the results of the initial user profile (see page 194), it was 

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Assessing Usability 
the study and it involved introducing participants to the 
DigiTake
package. 
A product brochure detailing the components of the suite as well as their 
functions and uses was emailed to each participant. Participants were in-
structed to spend approximately one hour reading this document. The pur-
pose of this was to familiarise participants with the system so that they 
would have a context for the information they would learn from the user 
guide (Foss 
et al.
1981:334). This document aimed to help users understand 
the software and the tasks they would eventually perform. This document 
did not, however, provide any specific information on how to use the sys-
tem or its functions. It simply described the general technology, functions 
and architecture of the system along with its typical working environment. 
Each participant was also contacted to arrange and confirm their test 
times and dates for Session 2. 
Session 2: Testing 
Session 2 involved conducting the actual test sessions with participants. 
Upon arrival in the test laboratory, each participant was welcomed and of-
fered refreshments. Having been shown to the workstation, the purpose 
and nature of the test was again explained. It was stressed that the purpose 
of the study was to assess the user guide and not the participants’ abilities as 
regards computers, typing, intelligence etc. Participants were told that they 
should regard themselves as co-testers – they were part of the test team and 
that they were doing the testing, not being tested. They were also told that 
they could take a break or withdraw from the study at any time. 
Next, each user was given a consent form (see Appendix 2). They were 
asked to read this form and ask for clarification, if necessary. If participants 
were happy with the terms of the consent form, they were asked to sign the 
consent form. The test administrator also signed the form. 
At this point, the video camera was started. Although the tasks had not 
yet started, turning on the camera at this stage helped participants become 
accustomed to the camera and the low level of background noise it created 
before they actually started working. This was intended to minimise any 
adverse effects caused by the camera’s presence. 
Once the camera was started, participants were given a randomly pre-
assigned user guide. They were told that they had up to 30 minutes to read 
the user guide. They were also told that they would be allowed to use the 
user guide during the tasks. Participants were told that during the test, they 
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should not ask questions or otherwise ask the test administrator for assistance

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Experiment to Test the Impact of Iconic Linkage
user guide for answers first. If a participant asked a general question, the test 
administrator referred the participant to the relevant section of the user 
guide. The test administrator only provided specific information where the 
question arose as a result of a technical problem with the hardware or soft-
ware or where, after consulting the user guide the participant was in danger 
of not completing the task. When participants had finished reading the user 
guide, a task sheet (see Table 4) was distributed. Participants were informed 
that the test would proceed one task at a time and that they must not start a 
new task until told to do so. Upon completion of each task, the participants 
were asked to inform the test administrator. 
Before starting the first task, the test administrator started the Camtasia 
screen recorder. This simply involved having Camtasia running in the 
background before the participants arrived and then pressing a single func-
tion key on the keyboard to start recording. The first task was explained 
orally and participants were directed to the task sheet and instructed to 
commence the task. Upon completion, the participants informed the test 
administrator and were given the opportunity to ask questions, give com-
ments or take a break. Each task was conducted in this manner. 
When all of the tasks had been completed, Camtasia was stopped and