THE AFFORDANCES AND APPLICATIONS OF A TECHNICAL AND PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION APPROACH TO USER EXPERIENCE

This dissertation presents a tripartite investigation into the relationship between the academic discipline of technical and professional communication (TPC) and user experience (UX) design and research. It argues that the work occurring in the liminal space between TPC and UX (TPC-UX) constitutes a mature communication design methodology that affords a bivalent consideration of both users and technologies. Following the introduction and literature review, this dissertation offers a content analysis of TPC-UX scholarship published between 2013-2022. The content analysis illustrates how TPC-UX affords (1) theoretical richness stemming from TPC’s longstanding engagement with social justice and post-humanism, (2) a robust consideration of multimodality owing to TPC-UX’s engagement with rhetorical theory, and (3) methodological flexibility that helps scholars and practitioners navigate complex communication contexts. Following the content analysis, this dissertation presents user research within a unique context—a newly formed, BIPOC-led nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to equitable access to psychedelic assisted therapy. This chapter illustrates how volunteers’ UX with communication technologies is affected by both their motivations for volunteerism as well as organization development factors. In the final section, this dissertation describes an approach to TPC-UX pedagogy, wherein UX methods and deliverables are used to shape the development of a technology tutorial. This pedagogical approach demonstrates how UX is evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, for TPC pedagogy and affords students a greater engagement with the audiences and contexts of technical communication.