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
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