Re: [IxDA Discuss] Confusing terms in customer documentation
Mobile Station is a common technical term when describing wireless networks. Think its first use was in 2G mobile phone networks, when it referred to the mobile phone. If you are on the engineering side Radio is misleading because here the Base Station is a radio as well. If the documentation needs a review by technical person then brace yourself for a fight. Personally I think Mobile Station should be replaced with Handset in end-user documentation. Even if the user does call it a radio, handset shouldn't be that hard to understand if you know a little english. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=44436 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Confusing terms in customer documentation
Ali -
If you look in a dictionary at the definition of 'station', you will
find that a 'mobile station' is a contradiction in terms. A 'station' is
a fixed location.
I can understand how techies may have arrived at it ('node' was probably
another exciting contenderg) but I really wouldn't use 'mobile
station' with users. Radio, handset or radio handset would all be better
(IMHO).
Regards,
William
-Original Message-
From: new-boun...@ixda.org [mailto:new-boun...@ixda.org] On Behalf Of
Ali Amrohvi
Sent: 07 August 2009 1:29 PM
To: disc...@ixda.org
Subject: [IxDA Discuss] Confusing terms in customer documentation
...
Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)!
To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org
Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe
List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines
List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Company goals vs. user goals
User and business goals should be closely aligned and there should be alignment amongst the stakeholders in the company. Often, there isn't so people go with whatever they feel is right. Suggestion: you may want to take 2-3 business goals and key user journeys on the web site and see how both could be improved i.e. assess current metrics, understand business/user needs, make changes/tweaks to the design and assess if there are improvements. If you can demonstrate the improvements/success on few key journeys you can scale this up to other stuff. Note - these do not have to be big changes. You may also want to revisit what you know about your users now and what you need to learn more about to continue to communicate this to your VP etc This opens the conversation to not just personal opinions but informed design as you go along. rdgs, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=44399 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Confusing terms in customer documentation
Is it a TETRA product? All these strange words are common when describing this technology. So any technical person will understand it at once. I think it is important that when you make your case to the management you make it clear you don't propose a change in the company; it is only a change in how you present the products to end-users. In lots of companies policies applies to documents with little regard to who is reading them, so it is easy to get this wrong. I don't think I would present Radio as the better alternative. The important point is that Mobile Station is hard to understand for ordinary people and should therefore be replaced. If the management doesn't like Radio for a good reason then it is likely that they will focus on how bad that term is. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=44436 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Confusing terms in customer documentation
Hello Shivan: Our marketing team vistins the users since they are the ones providing user feedback. Our manuals are written in English and the marketing team found out that the term Radio is what users use. May it be a police officer in Korea, a figher fighter in the US or a nurse in the UK. Radio is what the users call this thing. The company cannot afford that its technical writers visit end users, due to budget. So we get important info from marketing. Hello Eirik: I would say that its better to use terms, which are used by users. You are right, I am on the engineering side and what is important is the fact that internal terms should not be forced into our documents. Let internal terms stay within the company. The problem with the term HANDSET is that some radios are installed on a vehicle. We call those vehicle mounted radios. Not vehicle mounted mobile stations. So the manuals contain 3 terms and this is NOT userfriendly due to people getting confused. It is a TETRA product, and the management all agree with me. but certain rules and TETRA general standard terms, block my wish to use an alternative term. I guess the users aren't really that important ;) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=44436 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Company goals vs. user goals
Although you may feel like the entire website needs significant rework at the moment to balance out both use and business needs, as a first step I would suggest is making a small change. Develop metrics on how you will determine if the change was successful for both users and the business. In this respect I would recommend some kind of analytical metric since it will help you speak your VPs language. Once the VP sees that design truly does have effect on the business, they will (hopefully) provide you with more freedom to take on bigger and bigger changes. In essence: start small, speak the language, be strategic! Best, Alla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=44399 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] IxDA needs your input and feedback
Next week the IxDA Board of Directors will be gathering in San Francisco for our annual retreat Friday through Sunday, and we will be meeting with the local IxDA group on Saturday evening. We will be coming from Australia, Brazil, and every time zone in the US. In preparation, we'd like to gather any feedback, comments, questions, and ideas you may have for us.Your thoughts could have great impact on our agenda. You may remain anonymous, or you may share your name so we may follow up with you. Share your thoughts: http://bit.ly/1a5IyC Some topics of conversation already slated are: 1. How do we maintain and sustain IxDA as a volunteer-based, no-membership-fee organization? 2. How do we best support local groups around the world? 3. How can we encourage more people to shift from being passive recipients to more active participants, both with IxDA online, locally and at the conference level? IxDA is supported 100% by volunteers, at every level of the organization. As such our efforts to tackle and complete all that we want to is naturally inhibited by the amount of time and support the community can provide. We have had quite a successful year, but we know there are a lot of areas in need of improvement. We need to hear from you so we can prioritize where our time and energy should be focused. You should expect to hear thoughts coming out of the retreat during the weekend, as well as the week following. If you're not already, follow @ixda on Twitter. Thank you in advance, Janna DeVylder President, IxDA Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] [Event Reminder UPDATED] Chicago IxDA AUGUST Social
AUGUST SOCIALl--- NOTE TIME VENUE CHANGE Please join us on Wednesday, August 12th for our next Chicago IxDA gathering! Chris Bernard of Microsoft will be hosting the happy hour at the Park Grill. Join us for people watching, great discussion, and maybe a few surprises from Microsoft. Chris has mentioned he'll try to up there around 5:30 in case anyone wants to come early and pick his brain about Sketchflow and Expression Blend. He would love to hear from anyone who has tried out the tool has feedback to give! This social is a lead up to a more structured, hands on, event to follow later in the fall where MIcrosoft will be giving IXDA members the opportunity to participate in an indepth demo/workshop with Sketchflow in Expression Blend. In the meantime, you can download the first chapter of Chris' upcoming book on Dynamic Prototyping with Sketchflow at: http://www.dynamic-prototyping.com/ Time: 6:00 - 8:00 PM Address: Park Grill, 11 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL, www.parkgrillchicago.com Please RSVP by end of day Tuesday, August 11th. You will get a confirmation message after filling out the RSVP form, which is available at the top of this message. See you there! Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] UX Book Club Switzerland
Hi everone We're starting a UX Book Club in Switzerland. Everyone is welcome to join. What / when / where is not decided yet. Just join our amazee group, or write me an email, if you're interested. Updates will be posted on the amazee page: http://www.amazee.com/ux-book-club-switzerland Have a great weekend! Roland Studer, avertas Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] IxDA Mentorship Program - Update
Hi, Just a quick update on the IxDA Mentorship program. Since we launched the program on June 13th, 37 people have volunteered to be Mentors, 127 people have requested a Mentor, and weve matched 37 total pairs. Recently, we asked for feedback on the program, and here are some positive responses: == My mentor is great. I got clarity as to how the job market in my field has changed in the past 5 years. I got coaching as to what to apply for now, and how to position myself for my next specialty area. I ordered the book she recommended, and have started reading it. It's really helpful. == the mentorship program is going really well. We met about a month ago in person and talked about our backgrounds. I was looking for work then, and she had a contact at a company I was interviewing with -- she reached out to him and gave me a good word. == Our dialogues have been interesting. Besides getting a chance to share my ideas, it's great to hear how others feel and know that I can add some points of my own. Being challenged on my ideas has allowed me to gain more confidence in them and my approaches. However, its not all roses and butterflies; we have several pressing issues, and so Im hoping the list would like to help. Please, if you want to get involved [and can actually commit some time to get involved] send me an email off-list. Specifically, we need: 1. More mentors! There are close to 90 people who need your help. Want to volunteer? http://www.ixda.org/mentor.php 2. An automated matching system. Presently, volunteers submit a form, and the matching process is done by hand. Have some dev chops and free cycles? Help us make this more automated. 3. Success criteria. We have no formal mechanism to understand how the program is helping and how we can improve it. Have some ideas? Send me an email. Again, thanks to all who have already volunteered. Jon Kolko Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
