RE: An Engineer has infected my young mind!

["Guru Kamath" <guru -at- bom5 -dot- vsnl -dot- net -dot- in>]

Hello Sierra,

Is it possible that there may be a grain of truth in what the engineer has
to say?  Does he know his product and his audience better than you?  Is it
possible that the audience may really appreciate the kind of manual that he
has planned out?  Why is the engineer saying what he is saying? By any
chance are we dismissing his ideas merely because he is not a technical
communicator or because they do not match what we have in mind?  Why are we
not listening to him?  Why can't we probe him further?

To really answer your question well -- we would need to know your company,
your product and your audience very well.  I feel it is for the company to
decide what kind of manual or information they will provide and in what
manner. Ultimately, the question is whether the manual succeeds in its
objective.

I am a freelance professional and I believe my job is to deliver what the
client wants. Similarly, in an employment context -- I do feel companies are
your clients. Decision-makers make choices. We need to deliver according to
the decisions made. Of course, as professionals we can only provide guidance
and reasoning as to what is best.

How about doing usability tests? Try to find out which approach will suit
your audience. How about a Survey or how about a customer focus group which
answers all the questions you have in mind?

While I do admit that mostly we build the manual only once -- just like
buidlings!  Why don't we -- for once -- build what our immediate customer
(the engineer!) wants.  If he is happy with it -- we have succeeded in our
job.  If customers scream and support calls/costs go up -- the engineer
cannot be happy any longer. Then, we can build a manual for our real
customer -- the user.

All the best with whatever approach you take.

Guru
guru -at- bom5 -dot- vsnl -dot- net -dot- in