Technical authors are faced with limited time and resources, so they often are faced with the dilemma as to what to include and what to leave out of their user documentation. You may ask, if 80% read only 20% of the content, is there any value in documenting the rest? Technical Authors are often great… Read more »
Category: documentation
Documentation and when things go wrong
The latest edition of the IET’s “Engineering & Technology” magazine looks at engineering disasters and, in doing so, provides food for thought regarding the role of documentation. “Hard lessons” looks at ten disasters, such as the Challenger Space Shuttle, and the reasons why these disasters can occur. Looking at the disasters, I could see some common themes:… Read more »
Why bother with user documentation in recessionary times?
Although many organisations see user assistance as a “good thing”, it’s not immune to the belt tightening that many organisations face in times of difficulty. Business expert Mike Southon recommends that in recessionary times, organisations should focus on getting sales from existing customers – so customer retention becomes ever more important. There’s a virtuous circle… Read more »
What I learnt from 21 hours of interviews with UK Documentation Managers
After conducting 21 hours of interviews with Documentation Managers and writing a 7,000 word report on the findings, two factors stand out: 1. The importance of usability testing documents.2. The importance of measurement. As the saying goes, you can’t manage what you can’t measure. UPDATE: The report is now available for purchase via the Cherryleaf… Read more »
Who says documentation doesn’t matter?
From Ars Technica Judge: Microsoft documentation unfit for US consumption By John Timmer | Published: September 25, 2008 – 07:50PM CT Microsoft may have made a big push to settle many of the antitrust actions facing it around the globe, but those efforts have run up against a major stumbling block: the company’s inability to… Read more »