Technical Translation: Usability Strategies for Translating Technical Documentation

Experiment to Test the Impact of Iconic Linkage 
Having looked at a range of assessment methods and case studies the next 
step is to put this knowledge into practice to evaluate the effect of Iconic 
Linkage on the usability of a user guide. The following sections describe 
the preparations, rationale and methods used to assess the effect of IL on a 
user guide by simulating the text production phase of the translation proc-
ess. 
Pilot Study 
A pilot study is an invaluable part of any empirical study as it not only gives 
an indication of the likely results, it, more importantly, provides an oppor-
tunity to test the methods, materials and processes. Pilot studies are vital in 
identifying potential problems with the study and make it possible to refine 
methods and so avoid costly (and embarrassing) mistakes in the main study. 
Although Iconic Linkage can be implemented in both monolingual text 
production situations and in translation situations, the study was restricted 
to examining Iconic Linkage in a single language environment to eliminate 
the potentially confounding influence of an additional language and the 
translation process. In addition to reflecting the production of user guides in 
a single language, this also reflects the introduction of Iconic Linkage dur
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Assessing Usability 
documents and translations. 
For the purposes of this study, usability (or more specifically, factors 
which indicate usability problems) was measured on the basis of the follow-
Subtasks completed 
Tasks Completed 
Times user guide used 
Negative reactions to system 
Incorrect icon choices 
Commands and icons remem-
bered afterwards 
Verbal interactions/questions dur-
ing tasks 
Incorrect menu choices 
Searches in TOC each time user 
guide used 
Searches in the index each time 
user guide used 
Observations of confusion 
Observations of frustration 
Errors at point where subject
thinks task have been completed 
Observations of satisfaction 
Table 2: Pilot Study Usability Criteria 
It was also decided to record the times for each of the following criteria: 
Completion of tasks 
Recovering from errors 
Navigating menus 
Using online help 
In addition to these objectively quantifiable criteria, a subjective user satis-
faction questionnaire and a post-test survey were also administered to ex-
amine usability in terms of user satisfaction and retention of information 
over time. 
The pilot study was carried out in four major stages: 
1. Preparations 
2. Familiarisation 
3. Testing 
4. Post Test Surveys 
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the editing, proofing and correction stages of both original language
ing quantifiable criteria (drawing on those discussed on page 197): 
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Experiment to Test the Impact of Iconic Linkage
Preparations 
Preparations for the study involved the creation of a wide range of docu-
ments, forms and other materials including the two versions of the user 
guide. This stage also involved profiling typical users and recruiting partici-
pants.