Rhetoric is Useful: Exhibits as Interfaces

Johnson, Robert R., Michael J. Salvo, Meredith W. Zoetewey. "User-Centered Technology in Participatory Culture: Two Decades “Byond a Narrow Conception of Usability Testing." IEEE Transaction on Professional Communication.  Dec. 50.4 (2007): 27-47. http://ehis.ebscohost.com.proxy.lib.odu.edu/ehost/resultsadvanced?sid=dc51e853-ea56-4dea-ae89-728e57a72341%40sessionmgr15&vid=2&hid=23&bquery=(AU+(Zoetewey))&bdata=JmRiPWE5aCZ0eXBlPTEmc2l0ZT1laG9zdC1saXZl

Johnson, Salvo and Zoetewey review Patricia Sullivan’s contribution to the connections between rhetoric and usability while asserting that “usability relies on multiple epistemologies to triangulate knowledge making.”  Criticizing trends in usability studies that put the issue of useability and user-interface at the end of the design-stage of computer programs and products, the authors come to the conclusion that usability studies should be integrated and analyzed through a rhetorical lens before and throughout the design process.  Positioning themselves along side Whitehouse who wrote the “Uniqueness of Individual Perception” and referencing Latour’s concept that challenges science as a privileged topic, the authors assert that previous efforts to subjugate mainstream culture and rhetoric to hard science and engineering has resulted in missed opportunities, lost understanding of user cultures, and poor design of programs and products. The authors illustrate that rhetoricians, working in branches of technical communication and new media design, act as a bridge between “culture” which they define as the “non-science” community and the science community, essentially saying that culture and science are equally important, but need rhetoric or rhetoricians to act as a “translator” or “interface” between the two groups—especially when it comes to usability and user-interface design.  The authors reiterate that the rhetorical concept of relativity, rather than the scientific concept of rigidity, applies to the interdisciplinary field of usability and that taking relative issues, such as audience, purpose, desired outcomes, and pedagogical methods, into account throughout the design process a better user interfaces and improved design and usability will be the outcomes.

In terms of composition pedagogy, three things come to mind. One of the concerns is that software designers and not composition instructors have more influence over student interfaces such as Blackboard, MyCompLab, and distance learning programs such as WebEx and Adobe Connect.  While instructors may be mindful of student experience with these technologies, poor usability and poor user interfaces can have a negative impact on the teaching and learning experience.   Second, the article stresses the need to teach students in technical writing and technical communication courses, that usability studies must include rhetorical concepts to create better process and products.  Third, the article suggests that teaching more students to understand the issues surrounding usability as a facet of communication/rhetoric will result in deeper understanding of the scientific community by "culture" and deeper undersanding of "culture" by scientists.  This article seeks to show that rhetoricians must be involved in throughout the design process to improve both teaching and learning when using technology.