Technical Translation: Usability Strategies for Translating Technical Documentation

Sensory Data Filters 
With our powerful sensory systems, humans are under a constant barrage of 
sensory information. We receive enormous amounts of information 
through our eyes, ears, sense of touch etc. But it would be impossible for us 
to process all of this information or even be consciously aware of it all (Coe 
1996:10). Indeed, we are only aware of a fraction of the sensory informa-
tion we receive.
This is not a coincidence, for if we were to attempt to process everything 
we would waste valuable processing resources on things other than those 
we want to concentrate on. It is possible that such a volume of information 
could even overload our processing systems with less than desirable conse-
quences. We must, therefore, organise and limit the sensory input so that 
we can process information in a structured and manageable way. This is 
done in a number of ways that make use of 
thresholds
, the 
cocktail-party 
effect
and 
sensory adaptation
. 
Thresholds 
There are two types of threshold that we use to separate and organise sen-
sory input: 
absolute
and 
just noticeable difference
( JND).
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Understanding Users 
An 
absolute threshold
is the smallest amount of stimulus we can detect 
50% of the time. This type of threshold is largely dependent on the indi-
vidual and each individual’s psychological state. For instance, a user’s moti-
vation, expectations and experience are crucial in determining absolute 
thresholds when, for example, learning to use a new software application. 
Consequently, absolute thresholds are variable – the exact same stimulus 
may induce different responses under different circumstances and at differ-
ent times (the time of day, whether the user is in a good mood etc.). 
Just noticeable difference
is the smallest difference noticeable between 
two stimuli 50% of the time. By way of example, let us consider a glass of 
water. Imagine we are gradually adding tiny amounts of salt to the water. 
We will not detect the presence of the salt at first but if we continue adding 
tiny amounts of salt, we will eventually begin to taste it in the water. The 
difference between the point where we first detect the taste of salt and the 
last point where we did not taste the salt is the just noticeable difference.