Audience Analysis Checklist

Laila Hlimi

Bad Documentation

Technical Communication

Professor: D. Michelut

November 11th, 2008 2

Memorandum: To: John Duncan, Director of Dir Organization From: Laila Hlimi, Technical Communication Student Date: November 11th, 2008 Re: Proposal for outlining the ethical and legal problems or the issues that document poses

As student at the technical communication class, I was asked to analyze the document entitled “LOCKOUT/BLOCKOUT METHODS & SAMPLE PROCEDURES” that is presented on your web site. This memo presents my findings

Part One: Analysis Audience: Primary Audience: This document is a TCP that is designed for security an awareness purposes. This TCP targets mainly workers that use machinery in their daily occupation. Generally, this segment works in big factories and they can be encountered with the daily tasks of locking out and blocking out methods. Their responsibilities can range from maintenance responsible, cotton gin operator, warehouse men. They must be familiar with the use of machinery and the factory domain because the document includes some technical expressions such us tagout and annual compliance audit. Even thought they are familiar with the use of machinery they do not use it cautiously, so they are running a high risk of accidents. Of course for these workers to be able to use this TCP they need to literate people, very comfortable with the English or Spanish (at the top of the page it is specified that this document is also available in Spanish) language since they do not only need to read the TCP but also fill some forms that require specific knowledge and information. It clear that the expert who is designing the TCP has well researched the segment at hand either by interviews or by second hand research. The expert has actually searched for previous cases of accidents as well other cases where accidents are likely to happen. Secondary audience: The secondary audiences that can use this TCP are visitors of manufactories, who can come for professional reasons or personal ones (to visit someone he/she knows working at the manufactory). These visitors also need the information in the TCP for their own safety and security. They can be either very familiar with the manufactory and machinery domain or not knowledgeable at all. This secondary audience must master the English or spanish language to be able to understand the instructions in the TCP.

Purpose: this document has several purposes: 1. Help workers use machinery properly 2. Help workers avoid accidents that might threaten their safety and security 3. Help workers work in a safe environment

User tasks: My task Analysis reveals two main tasks that the document must address: 1. Identifying and labeling the energy disconnecting means. 2. Locking out controls: the user needs to know how to make the coordination between the production and maintenance departments. The user also needs to know how to test equipment and restoring it to service 3

Part Two: Design Plans: Based on my brief analysis, I suggest designing a brochure that needs to be precise and concise. It should be very user friendly while containing all the information workers generally need.

Rough Outline: cover with a relevant visuals (worker using a machinery), with the name of the organization First Section: it going to include some general background and statistics about past accidents due to lack of awareness and caution while using machinery. Second Section: the use of visuals along with brief descriptions about how energy runs in machinery Third Section: numbered and illustrated steps of how to do the lockout for machinery safely. Final page: just like the cover page with the addition of a contact information

Production Guidelines: Our budget is going to include the personnel cost, the paper and color print cost, as well as the technological enablers.

Schedule: The brochure must be ready on January 10th, 2009 as the following schedule suggests: November 24th, 2008: first draft completed to be tested on sample workers December 8th, 2008: the brochure is revised according to the test results December 22nd, 2008: Copyediting, proofreading, and refining the brochure before having it printed. December 29th, 2008: the brochures are back from the printer and ready to be shipped January 10th, 2009: shipping the brochures 4

Audience analysis Checklist:

Questions to be answered Yes No Have I identifies my exact audience?  Have identified this audience’s specific interests, information needs  and attitudes toward this topic? Have I identified the audience’s background on this topic?  Have I interviewed audience members beforehand? 

Primary Audience:

This document is a TCP that is designed for security an awareness purposes. This TCP targets mainly workers that use machinery in their daily occupation. Generally, this segment works in big factories and they can be encountered with the daily tasks of locking out and blocking out methods. Their responsibilities can range from maintenance responsible, cotton gin operator, warehouse men. They must be familiar with the use of machinery and the factory domain because the document includes some technical expressions such us tagout and annual compliance audit. Even thought they are familiar with the use of machinery they do not use it cautiously, so they are running a high risk of accidents. Of course for these workers to be able to use this TCP they need to literate people, very comfortable with the English or Spanish (at the top of the page it is specified that this document is also available in Spanish) language since they do not only need to read the TCP but also fill some forms that require specific knowledge and information. It clear that the expert who is designing the TCP has well researched the segment at hand either by interviews or by second hand research. The expert has actually searched for previous cases of accidents as well other cases where accidents are likely to happen.

Secondary audience: The secondary audiences that can use this TCP are visitors of manufactories, who can come for professional reasons or personal ones (to visit someone he/she knows working at the 5 manufactory). These visitors also need the information in the TCP for their own safety and security. They can be either very familiar with the manufactory and machinery domain or not knowledgeable at all. This secondary audience must master the English or spanish language to be able to understand the instructions in the TCP.

Task Analysis

Task analysis Checklist:

Questions to be answered Yes No Have I clearly defined the task?  Have identified my sources to get information?  Why someone would learn the skill?  What are the prerequisite, skills, knowledge, attitudes, special  materials, and tools required for the accomplishment of the task? Have I identified the warnings I need to make?  Have I identified clearly the steps and substeps required for the  accomplishment of the task? Did I make sure a step is fully accomplished before moving on to  another? Have I identifies the steps that require visuals to be better  understood? How can I know the tasks is successfully accomplished? 

In this TCP the main task that is to be performed by workers is clearly stated: locking out and blocking machinery in order to avoid accidents that can harm workers. All the substeps required for the task accomplishment are also stated in numbered form (exp:

“1. All maintenance personnel are issued a suitable lock (or locks). The lock

has the individual worker's name and other identification on it. Each worker

has the only key to the lock.

2. The worker checks to be sure that no one is operating the machinery

BEFORE turning off the power. The machine operator is informed before the

power is turned off. Sudden loss of power could cause an accident.” 6

The use of numbers is one way to make sure that one step needs to be done before moving on to the following one. In addition to this, in the TCP, the technical communicator also includes some necessary warnings (exp: “CAUTION: Return disconnects and operating controls to the off position after each test.”). In order to be able to present accurate information such us the ones presented in this ICP, the expert had certainly done some in depth research.

Usability Checklist

Questions yes no Did I perform an audience and purpose analysis? 

Did I perform an information plan? 

Did I do enough information? 

Did I test an early version of the communication product? 

Did I make needed revisions to the plan or product based on testing? 

Does my document use the appropriate grammar and style? 

Is information appropriately chunked? 

Did I provide ways for users to give me feedback? 

From the use of different type of workers using machineries (exp: warehouse man, cotton gin operator…), the expert creating the TCP is showing that s/he knows the specific segment targeted by the document at hand. In addition to this the expert is using a logical sequence of all the steps required for the task accomplishment (exp: “Methods of Locking Out

Controls”, logically followed by a section about “Lockout Procedure Requirements”). This 7 shows that the technical communicator is following a clear information plan. That said, it is difficult to judge if the expert has already tested some early versions of the product, and had modified it accordingly. However, at the beginning of the page it is mentioned that the document has been “revised on May 2005”. At least this shows that document might have been updated.

In this TCP the technical communicator has used proper grammar and style with appropriate connections between nouns and verbs.

The page is correctly presented and the text is well chucked. The use of headings with consistent fonts and placements allow readers to go to the specific section they are interested in, especially that the document is quite long. Headings and subheadings are easily distinguished. The bold and italic founts are used sparingly. The paragraphs are clearly separated using blank spaces. This latter feature gives fewer overloads to the page.

In giving the instructions needed to accomplish the tasks, the communicator does not use imperative modes. Instead, instructions are given in passive modes (exp: “Electrical circuits must be checked by qualified persons with proper and calibrated electrical testing equipment. An electrical failure could energize the equipment, even if the switch is in the off position. Stored energy in electrical capacitators should be safely discharged.”). Plus there is no feedback section on this specific page of the document; however, if the user goes back to previous pages of the website, a contact us section is included which might very useful as well.

Account of the Research

The technical communicator is playing the role of both an “encoder” and a “colleague”

(Alicia McBride, 2005). S/he is an encoder because the writer in this case is not a mere user of 8 the information but also part of the writer’s community. In other words, the technical communicator and reader share a common code such us the same technical jargon for instance. The technical communicator of the TCP at hand had actually used some of this specific vocabulary (exp: tagout) to get closer to the targeted audience. The expert is also a colleague because by designing this TCP s/he did not only transmits information but also serves the community. In other words, the technical communicator and the reader are both equal in shaping the community. As Jean Hollis Weber (1995) states, the technical communicator is actually making the bridge between the machine creators and the workers using them. In this TCP s/he is using simple, direct expressions of ideas while respecting other colleagues such that there is no use of harsh words or implicit insults. More than that, there is no use of loaded words or sensationalizing (the use of specific words to make to make the fact sensational) 9

References

Alicia McBride. (2005).Towards a Sense of Ethics for Technical Communication

Retreived October 29th, 2008 from http://orange.eserver.org/issues/3-2/mcbride.html

Weber.J.H. (1995). Ethics in scientific and technical communication. WISENET Journal

38,2,4.