WELCOME c Printed Pages vs Web Pages The

WELCOME! c

Printed Pages vs. Web Pages: The Documentation Dilemma c Deb Wentorf Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute SIGUCCS 2001

Presentation Overview ¢ A Bit of Background ¢ Web Pages’ Wonders and Woes ¢ Printed Pages’ Problems and Plusses ¢ Some Examples from Rensselaer ¢ Personally Putting the Principles into Practice ¢ Concluding Remarks

A Bit of Background ¢ When the Internet was first becoming popular back in the early 1990 s, there were only a few web pages available…. maybe a few dozen.

A Bit of Background ¢ When the Internet was first becoming popular back in the early 1980 s, there were only a few web pages available…. maybe a few dozen. ¢ Today, there are nearly half a billion web pages in existence…and that number is rapidly increasing

The Wonders and Woes of Web Pages

The Wonders… ¢ On-Line Search Capabilities

The Wonders… ¢ On-Line Search Capabilities ¢ Cross Referencing Capabilities

The Wonders… ¢ On-Line Search Capabilities ¢ Cross Referencing Capabilities ¢ Instant Access from Anywhere

The Wonders… ¢ On-Line Search Capabilities ¢ Cross Referencing Capabilities ¢ Instant Access from Anywhere ¢ Availability to Multiple Users

The Wonders… ¢ On-Line Search Capabilities ¢ Cross Referencing Capabilities ¢ Instant Access from Anywhere ¢ Availability to Multiple Users ¢ Integration of Product and Information

The Wonders… ¢ On-Line Search Capabilities ¢ Cross Referencing Capabilities ¢ Instant Access from Anywhere ¢ Availability to Multiple Users ¢ Integration of Product and Information ¢ Dynamic Graphics Capabilities

The Wonders… ¢ On-Line Search Capabilities ¢ Cross Referencing Capabilities ¢ Instant Access from Anywhere ¢ Availability to Multiple Users ¢ Integration of Product and Information ¢ Dynamic Graphics Capabilities ¢ Lower Cost

The Wonders… ¢ On-Line Search Capabilities ¢ Cross-Referencing Capabilities ¢ Instant Access from Anywhere ¢ Availability to Multiple Users ¢ Integration of Product and Information ¢ Multimedia Capabilities ¢ Lower Cost ¢ Instant “Updatability” and Timely Delivery

…and the Woes ¢ Lack of Portability

…and the Woes ¢ Lack of Portability ¢ Users’ Unfamiliarity

…and the Woes ¢ Lack of Portability ¢ Users’ Unfamiliarity ¢ Platform or Environment Inconsistency

…and the Woes ¢ Lack of Portability ¢ Users’ Unfamiliarity ¢ Platform or Environment Inconsistency ¢ Reduced Legibility

…and the Woes ¢ Lack of Portability ¢ Users’ Unfamiliarity ¢ Platform or Environment Inconsistency ¢ Reduced Legibility ¢ Overlapping Windows

…and the Woes ¢ Lack of Portability ¢ Users’ Unfamiliarity ¢ Platform or Environment Inconsistency ¢ Reduced Legibility ¢ Overlapping Windows ¢ Possible Legal or Copyright Issues

…and the Woes ¢ Lack of Portability ¢ Users’ Unfamiliarity ¢ Platform or Environment Inconsistency ¢ Reduced Legibility ¢ Overlapping Windows ¢ Possible Legal or Copyright Issues ¢ Dependence on Equipment Availability

…and the Woes ¢ Lack of Portability ¢ Users’ Unfamiliarity ¢ Platform or Environment Inconsistency ¢ Reduced Legibility ¢ Overlapping Windows ¢ Possible Legal or Copyright Issues ¢ Dependence on Equipment Availability ¢ Vulnerability

Printed Pages’ Problems and Plusses

The Problems… ¢ Costly Production

The Problems… ¢ Costly Production ¢ Slow Delivery

The Problems… ¢ Costly Production ¢ Slow Delivery ¢ Limited Search Facilities

The Problems… ¢ Costly Production ¢ Slow Delivery ¢ Limited Search Facilities ¢ Static Graphics

The Problems… ¢ Costly Production ¢ Slow Delivery ¢ Limited Search Facilities ¢ Static Graphics ¢ “The Intimidation Factor”

…and the Plusses ¢ Consistency of Layout and Display

…and the Plusses ¢ Consistency of Layout and Display ¢ User Familiarity

…and the Plusses ¢ Consistency of Layout and Display ¢ User Familiarity ¢ Greater Legibility

…and the Plusses ¢ Consistency of Layout and Display ¢ User Familiarity ¢ Greater Legibility ¢ Greater User “Orientation”

…and the Plusses ¢ Consistency of Layout and Display ¢ User Familiarity ¢ Greater Legibility ¢ Greater User “Orientation” ¢ Portability

…and the Plusses ¢ Consistency of Layout and Display ¢ User Familiarity ¢ Greater Legibility ¢ Greater User “Orientation” ¢ Portability ¢ “Notability”

…and the Plusses ¢ Consistency of Layout and Display ¢ User Familiarity ¢ Greater Legibility ¢ Greater User “Orientation” ¢ Portability ¢ “Notability” ¢ Independence from Hardware Requirements

…and the Plusses ¢ Consistency of Layout and Display ¢ User Familiarity ¢ Greater Legibility ¢ Greater User “Orientation” ¢ Portability ¢ “Notability” ¢ Independence from Hardware Requirements ¢ “Crash-Proof”

Some Examples from Rensselaer

Some Examples from Rensselaer ¢ Quick Studies ¢ Memos ¢ The Kiosk ¢ “The Red Book”

Personally Putting the Principles into Practice

Personally Putting the Principles into Practice ¢ This presentation is a living testimony to a number of the very principles I’ve discussed! ¡First began by taking advantage of on-line search capabilities to locate and “bookmark” information

Personally Putting the Principles into Practice ¢ This presentation is a living testimony to a number of the very principles I’ve discussed! ¡First began by taking advantage of on-line search capabilities to locate and “bookmark” information ¡Found it was easier for me to then print out the most useful material (and I really did use my yellow highlighter!)

Personally Putting the Principles into Practice ¢ This presentation is a living testimony to a number of the very principles I’ve discussed! ¡First began by taking advantage of on-line search capabilities to locate and “bookmark” information ¡Found it was easier for me to then print out the most useful material (and I really did use my yellow highlighter!) ¡Eventually moved back from paper to an on-line document

Concluding Remarks

Concluding Remarks ¢ Personally, I think we very much need to continue providing both paper and on-line documentation! Here a few other good summarizations:

Concluding Remarks ¢ Personally, I think we very much need to continue providing both paper and on-line documentation! Here a few other good summarizations: ¢ As one user in an on-line discussion put it: “Sometimes a well-written hardcopy is just what I want; other times on-line documentation is more useful. It depends on what I’m trying to do. ”

Concluding Remarks (continued) ¢ And from Horton’s book: “The transition from paper to on-line documents will be gradual and require considerable overlap. Perhaps documents will exist in both forms for a generation. Perhaps forever. The reason is simply that people prefer to use both. ”

Contact Information c Deb Wentorf Communication & Collaboration Technologies Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, New York 12180 -3590 (518) 276 -8344 wentod@rpi. edu This presentation is available on-line at the URL: http: //www. rpi. edu/~wentod/SIGUCCS_2001. ppt

THANK YOU!! c