TechCommix: A Tool and Foundation for Rethinking and Restructuring Technical Documentation

dc.contributor.authorZeitz, Rebecca Annen
dc.contributor.committeechairPerez-Quinonez, Manuel A.en
dc.contributor.committeechairEvia Puerto, Carlosen
dc.contributor.committeememberNorth, Christopher L.en
dc.contributor.departmentComputer Scienceen
dc.date.accessioned2014-07-10T08:00:22Zen
dc.date.available2014-07-10T08:00:22Zen
dc.date.issued2014-07-09en
dc.description.abstractComics is a writing style that is often written off as just something done for entertainment or design. However, there are many facets of comics that make it a suitable candidate for technical documentation. By nature, comics is a visual and universal language and, as such, is the basis for an investigation of comics within the scope of technical communication. This research investigates whether comics can be automatically generated, based on a set of predefined panel templates, for such purposes while also providing for flexibility in both content and ultimate consumption format. A within-subjects study run with over 200 participants compared comics to two of its traditional documentation style contenders, prose and step-oriented, in terms of understanding and evaluation metrics, including those related to user experience. Results indicate that comics as a documentation style can offer enhanced, more positive user experiences, albeit not being overall better than the other styles.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:2909en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/49431en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectcomicsen
dc.subjectdigital comicsen
dc.subjecttechnical communicationen
dc.subjectstructured authoringen
dc.titleTechCommix: A Tool and Foundation for Rethinking and Restructuring Technical Documentationen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineComputer Science and Applicationsen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

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