ADDICTED TO MEANING MENTAL MODELS

FOR TECHNICAL COMMUNICATORS

Kai Weber

@techwriterkai #STC13

7 May 2013

PROGRAM

Intro: Who am I and what do I know?

1. What is meaning…

… and why should technical communicators care?

2. How does meaning work in communication…

… and why does it still fail in tech comm?

Semiotics

3. How and why we create meaning…

… and how to create meaningful documentation?

Mental models

WHO AM I AND WHAT DO I KNOW?

WHAT IS MEANING?

Wisdom

Knowledge

Information

Data

Don„t put into fruit salad.

It„s a fruit.

WHAT IS MEANING?

Wisdom

Knowledge

Information

Data

Nothing lasts...

Used to be File menu

Open, Save, Print

Office 2007

WHAT IS MEANING?

Wisdom

Knowledge

Information

Data

Nothing lasts...

Used to be File menu

Open, Save, Print

Office 2007

ME

AN

ING

WHAT IS MEANING?

Can be in information, more valuable in knowledge

Allows us to “connect the dots”

Answers “why should I care?” and “what should I do?”

Turns information into relevant & applicable knowledge

WHY SHOULD TECHNICAL COMMUNICATORS CARE?

It‟s what we do:

Turn information into relevant & applicable knowledge

Know your audience!

Task-oriented documentation

HOW MEANING WORKS IN COMMUNICATION

Shannon & Weaver (1949) – process theory

Omits meaning!

Sender Receiver

Fiske (1990) – semiotics

HOW MEANING WORKS IN COMMUNICATION

Messages

Conventions

Media

Fiske (1990) – semiotics

HOW MEANING WORKS IN COMMUNICATION

Messages

Conventions

Media

In semiotics… In tech comm…

Represent “stuff” arbitrarily Clarify w/ definitions & glossary

Include or exclude groups Can ensure comprehensibility

Allow or restrict feedback Invite feedback & collaboration

WHY DOES MEANING FAIL IN TECH COMM?

Aren‟t message, conventions, and media clear?

von Foerster (1949ff.) – radical constructivism

There is no meaning

but the one created by the reader.

Each individual situation is

a new beginning, another page one

…which is why FAQs fail.

HOW WE CREATE MEANING

We compare each individual situation…

… with personal past experience…

… by matching…

Mental models

Semi-consciously selected, incomplete images

What (we think) we understand of the world

How we face the world: Options? Solutions? Confidence?

HOW WE CREATE MEANING

HOW WE CREATE MEANING

HOW WE CREATE MEANING

Image c

redit:

jwarletta

HOW WE CREATE MEANING

HOW WE CREATE MEANING

Mental models

Flexible and adaptable, within limits

Support meaningful knowledge

How we approach a task

How we react to a problem

How we look for help

Inert, uncontrollable

HOW WE CREATE MEANING

Mental models

Flexible and adaptable, within limits

Support meaningful knowledge

How we approach a task

How we react to a problem

How we look for help

Inert, uncontrollable

In tech comm:

Designer vs. user

Norman (1988)

WHY WE CREATE MEANING

We are addicted to meaning!

Conspiracy theories

Pop lyrics, “mondegreens”

Logos

Janoff (1977)

Image credit: Marcin Wichary

WHY WE CREATE MEANING

We are addicted to meaning!

Because we want to understand and do stuff:

What does this mean? How does this work?

Because we seek order:

How does this hang together? How to connect the dots?

WHAT IS MEANINGFUL USER ASSISTANCE?

1. Relevant to user, applicable to situation

2. Or a way ahead, a workaround

3. Or an explanation

4. Or even understanding and sympathy

HOW TO CREATE MEANINGFUL USER ASSISTANCE

Meaning needs understanding (cognition and empathy)

1. Understanding your audience

2. Understanding semantics

3. Understanding mental models

HOW TO CREATE MEANINGFUL USER ASSISTANCE

Understanding your audience

1. Help users connect the dots.

2. Beyond information, deliver applicable knowledge.

3. Beyond the “how”, include the “why”.

HOW TO CREATE MEANINGFUL USER ASSISTANCE

Understanding semantics

1. Messages are best clear and consistent.

2. Conventions are best inclusive.

3. Media are best serving people‟s communication.

4. Receivers need “random access”.

HOW TO CREATE MEANINGFUL USER ASSISTANCE

Understanding mental models

1. Translate designer‟s model into users‟ models.

2. Observe diverse audiences.

3. Support with options, solutions, and confidence.

4. Invite to explore; don‟t teach to control.

BETTER GRASP ON MENTAL MODELS...?

FURTHER READING AND SOURCES

1. DIKW Pyramid

2. Shannon & Weaver‟s process theory (1949)

3. Fiske on semiotics (1990) (chapters 3 & 4)

4. Mental models

in user interfaces

Norman: The Design of Everyday Things (1988)

5. Mondegreens in pop lyrics; Phil Collins‟s “In the Air Tonight”

6. Janoff, designing the Apple logo (1977)

7. Carroll on minimalism (1998), (esp. chapter 2)

THANK YOU! KEEP IN TOUCH!

kaiweber.wordpress.com

@techwriterkai