What constitutes a good checklist? (Take II)

["Hart, Geoff" <Geoff-H -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA>]

Christine Gonzales continues the discussion of checklists: <<I am finding
myself asking -what would a readable, function, and usable checklist look
like?>>

Well, please note that I'm not part of your audience, so the first thing you
should do is spend a few moments talking to them to find out what they've
liked about past checklists they've used--and what they've disliked! But in
terms of providing general guidance that will help you produce something you
can then test on your audience:
- Emphasize legibility: Make the text easy to read and follow, and in
particular, use large enough type with enough spacing between points that
readers can't easily skip a step.
- Avoid "turnoffs": Use enough white space, even at the expense of length,
that the page doesn't look intimidating and thus start readers off on the
wrong foot ("damn, this looks scary; look at all this information!").
Compare your initial reaction to a typical modern user manual and to a legal
disclaimer and you'll see the difference that proper design can make.
- Chunk text appropriately: For example, start each new series of steps on a
new page, or group steps into small, manageable chunks so that each chunk
looks less intimidating.

The actual design will depend on your audience, so using these three points,
ask one or two members (more, if you have time) what factors would satisfy
each of these criteria. Prepare a prototype, give it to the users, and ask
for feedback. Revise, and try again.

--Geoff Hart, FERIC, Pointe-Claire, Quebec
geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca 
"User's advocate" online monthly at
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