Re: Oh those tender users

["Bonnie Granat" <bgranat -at- att -dot- net>]

What *was* I thinking?
Boy, oh boy! Sorry for the confusion.

In the context in which I first wrote it, I thought it was clear, but I
guess it wasn't (you're not the first to say so). I was addressing Andrew's
comments and was trying to say that if you understand the product and the
user's needs, you will produce a document that is helpful. Perhaps my
subsequent post clarified it, but if it didn't I'll have another go at it:

When you are concerned with the needs of the user, you are going to write
documents that address that user's needs. Each user has a different type of
one particular need -- the need to comprehend what is happening in the
program. Not all users care about why something happens. If you understand
the product, you can tailor your documents to them. You can provide users
with what they need to know. I am saying, if I can get it out right, that
unless you do both -- care about the user's needs and know your product --
you cannot contribute to the user's getting her money's worth out of the
product.

I deleted some comments from my post and too quickly repeated myself. I
should have not done that.

Andrew counterposed concern with users' needs and understanding the product.
They are not counterposed, to me. If you understand the product, which I
agree must come first, then and only then can you address the needs of the
user.

I hope this sounds less like nonsense! <g>

Bonnie Granat
http://home.att.net/~bgranat

>
>> "Needs of the user" and "understanding the product" are the same thing.
>
>Nonsense.
>
>Granted the two are closely related, you probably cannot fully understand
>either without taking the other into account, and you certainly cannot do
>good tech writing without considering both. Still, calling them synonomous
>is incredibly silly.
>
>Do you actually believe this? Or are just giving Plato a dose of his own
>medicine (bravo!) by ludicrously overstating a valid point, a tactic he
>seems inordinately fond of?
>



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Develop HTML-based Help with Macromedia Dreamweaver! (STC Discount.)
**NEW DATE/LOCATION!** January 16-17, 2001, New York, NY.
http://www.weisner.com/training/dreamweaver_help.htm or 800-646-9989.

          Sponsored by an
 anonymous satisfied subscriber since 1994.

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot-  Visit 
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.