IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Dec 2013

Verification Steps and Personal Stories in an Instruction Manual for Seniors: Effects on Confidence, Motivation, and Usability

Nicole Loorbach ; Joyce Karreman University of Twente ; Michael Steehouder

Abstract

Research problem: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of two types of motivational elements-verification steps and personal stories-in an instruction manual for a cell phone targeted at senior users (between 60 and 70 years). Research questions: What are the effects of adding verification steps and personal stories to an instruction manual on: (1) Seniors' confidence in being able to work with a cell phone? (2) Seniors' motivation to work with a cell phone? (3) Seniors' effectiveness and efficiency in performing tasks, and their satisfaction with the cell phone and the instruction manual (usability)? Literature review: To optimize products and services for older users, the literature suggests that two specific motivational elements may be beneficial: (1) verification steps, which provide information at the end of procedures to allow users to check if these procedures were performed correctly. These appear to users as part of conventional procedural information in user instructions and (2) personal stories, which are anecdotes or testimonials that describe how a fictitious user succeeded in completing a procedure. Methodology: We conducted a quantitative experiment in which 59 seniors between 60 and 70 years of age participated. They performed a number of tasks with a cell phone, using a version of the instruction manual with added verification steps, or a version with additional personal stories, or a control version without motivational elements. We measured participants' confidence, their motivation, and usability by asking them to answer several questionnaires and by measuring task performance. Results and conclusions: Results support the use of verification steps or personal stories as motivational elements in user instructions as they can positively affect confidence, motivation, and usability, especially when senior users encounter setbacks.

Journal
IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Published
2013-12-01
DOI
10.1109/tpc.2013.2286221
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
technical communication affect and writing book reviews
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. Li et al. (2021)
    Getting the Picture: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Chinese and Western Users’ …
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Haaksma et al. (2018)
    Users’ Personal Conceptions of Usability and User Experience of Electronic and …
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  3. Lam et al. (2017)
    The social help desk: examining how Twitter is used as a technical support tool
    Communication Design Quarterly

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