Communication Design Quarterly May 2014 Open Access

"That usability course": what technical communication programs get wrong about usability and how to fix it

Quan Zhou Metropolitan State University

Abstract

The approach to usability adopted by many technical communication programs often conceptually separates usability from other subject matter areas and places it at the tail-end of a project. Such an approach creates conceptual barriers with regard to how usability fits in a design project. As a result, students do not engage in the critical work of designing and testing iteratively in the formative phase of a product. We should broaden usability into user experience, enable students to see user experience as an iterative and agile process, and provide in-depth knowledge of user research methods.

Journal
Communication Design Quarterly
Published
2014-05-01
DOI
10.1145/2644448.2644454
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Open Access
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Topics
technical communication
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (10)

  1. Rose et al. (2025)
    Trust the Process: A Scalable Model for UX Pedagogy
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Rose et al. (2024)
    The Paradigm Shift to UX and the Durability of Usability in TPC
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Patcha et al. (2024)
    An Experience Report on the Opportunities and Challenges of a Community-Engaged…
    Communication Design Quarterly
  4. Hunter (2024)
    Balancing Methodological Openness and Control in TPC-UX Pedagogy
    Communication Design Quarterly
  5. Hunter (2024)
    Toward TPC-UX: UX Topics in TPC Journals 2013–2022
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Show all 10 →
  1. Wright (2024)
    Perspectives on Usability Testing with IoT Devices in Technical Communication Courses
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Jacobsen et al. (2023)
    Toward Integrated UX Instruction With Symbiotic Classrooms
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  3. Chong (2018)
    Implementing Usability Testing in Introductory Technical Communication Service …
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  4. Bartolotta et al. (2018)
    Engaging with online design: undergraduate user-participants and the practice-l…
    Communication Design Quarterly
  5. Rose et al. (2017)
    Making practice-level struggles visible: researching UX practice to inform pedagogy
    Communication Design Quarterly

References (0)

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CrossRef global citation count: 12 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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