RE: Features of a well-written procedure
The five-to-seven rule is a valid principle used in documentation, sales,
and marketing.
In some contexts, yes.
The Rule of Seven is also observed in ancient literature for the exact same
reason: easy recall for the oral traditions.
And this is one of those contexts.
These are just a few examples. I once presented a workshop on using the Rule
of Seven for marketing. Someone in the audience asked about "the 10
commandments." Good question. I asked everyone to write down the 10
commandments as they remembered them. Then, I took an unscientific poll
(raising hands) by asking "how many did you get?" The average
was...........seven.
The similarity in both of these contexts is that the individual needs to remember the 7 steps?to internalize them. As I recall, that figure based on limitations to our short-term memory. Essentially, people can usually store 5-to-9 pieces of information in their short-term memory. (I've most commonly seen people say "7, plus or minus 2", but it all works out the same.)
If you're writing procedures that you want someone to internalize (that is, if your purpose is to train them to act without assistance), then this rule might be useful. It would then make sense to break down procedures into groups of 5-to-9 steps.
Not all procedures are written for people to internalize immediately. Sometimes, it's information that a user will rarely use. In this case, the rule is pointless. Recall isn't your aim; clear instruction is. And sometimes, clear instruction requires more than 9 steps. Mind you, I'm not suggesting that we all need to be less concise, just that we shouldn't artificially constrain a procedure because of a rule that might not be applicable in all situations.
I've read a few articles debunking this "rule" for use in procedure writing, and we've had a few discussions about it on this list in the past. The archive should have quite a bit on this topic, as well as citations for a number of good articles.
Bill Burns, Senior Technical Consultant, Scriptorium Publishing
FrameMaker ACE, WebWorks Publisher Certified Trainer
bburns -at- scriptorium -dot- com - 208-484-4459
http://www.scriptorium.com
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