Understanding Reviewing, Evaluating, and Testing
Printed Page 341-342
Understanding Reviewing, Evaluating, and Testing
As a writer, you can improve the usability of documents and websites by reviewing, evaluating, and testing them.
- Reviewing refers to three techniques—revising, editing, and proofreading—for studying and changing your draft in order to make it easier to use. You have used these techniques in this writing course and in previous courses.
- Evaluating refers to having other people help you by reading the draft and communicating with you about its strengths and weaknesses. You probably have had people help you evaluate some of your drafts in the past.
- Testing refers to formal techniques of observing people and analyzing their actions as they try to use your draft to carry out tasks. You likely have not used testing before.
Figure 13.1 shows the relationships among reviewing, evaluating, and testing.
Figure 13.1 Relationships Among Reviewing, Evaluating, and Testing
The solid lines represent the publication process. At point (a), the writer reviews the draft and then decides either to publish it as is (d) or to have it evaluated (b). If the draft is evaluated (b), it is next either published (d) or tested (c). After the draft is tested, it is published (d). The broken lines represent instances in which the draft might be sent back for further work. At point (e), a published document or website might be reviewed (a) and revised—partially or completely—to make it more usable.
How do you know whether you should go straight from reviewing to publication or whether you need to have the draft evaluated and perhaps tested? Typically, you consider three factors:
- Importance. If a document or site is important, evaluate and test as much as you can. For instance, an annual report is so important that you want to do everything you can to make it perfect. Your company’s website also is crucial. You keep evaluating and testing it even after it is launched. A routine memo describing a workaround for a technical problem is not as important. Review it yourself, and then send it out.
- Time. Almost every document has a deadline, and almost every deadline comes too quickly. If the document is even moderately important and you have the hours, days, or weeks to evaluate and test it, do so.
- Money. It costs money to evaluate and test drafts, including employee time and fees for test participants. If there is no good reason to spend the money, don’t.