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Lyndsey Amott reports: <<My client has asked me to write a usability
review of their online help and their paper documentation. So far I
have about 40 pages describing all the things that are problematic with
the help and the docs. I have been careful to talk about industry
standards and why the problems are problems, but because the review
focuses on negatives, I fear that the reaction to it will be
unpleasant.>>
Speaking as an editor, I can say that this problem isn't limited to
usability reviews. There are a few standard techniques for "softening
the blow":
- Start with positive comments: Tell them what they did right and what
they should continue doing. Consider making this part of an executive
summary that emphasizes the positive, then mentions that you've also
included a detailed list of proposed changes to satisfy their request
for a thorough critique.
- Create a gentle transition: "Since you asked me to highlight
problems, here are some things that don't meet the high standards of
the rest of your documentation..."
- Justify your criticisms: You've already referred to "standards", but
explaining why something is a problem helps enormously even when there
are no standards.
- If a problem can be solved simply (e.g., by a single search and
replace), state the problem once rather than once per occurrence; this
can potentially eliminate dozens or even hundreds of additional edits
or critiques. Of course, someone has to take responsibility for finding
all instances of the problem you've raised. Some editorial colleagues
use the "highlighter pen" feature in Word to identify each occurrence
of a problem, thereby making it harder to miss them.
- Offer solutions, not criticisms: "Here's the problem. Here are two
ways to fix it. If none of these work, drop me a line and let's discuss
alternatives." This also reinforces the concept that editorial and
other reviews should be collaborative, not something delivered from a
position of superiority.
- Remember the magic word(s): "Please" and other polite filler words
are hard to overuse. They reinforce the notion that you are requesting
rather than demanding a change and again, focus on collaboration rather
than imposing changes.
- Conclude on a positive note: "I know that this seems to be a
particularly critical review, but as you'll note from my suggestions,
most of the problems are minor and easy to solve. By paying attention
to the solutions, you can avoid the problems in the future and simplify
future reviews. Moreover, as noted from the initial pages of positive
comments, it's clear that you have a strong foundation on which to
build."
--Geoff Hart ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca
(try geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com if you don't get a reply)
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