RE: Making them read the documentation

["Giordano, Connie" <Connie -dot- Giordano -at- FMR -dot- COM>]

Sierra,

Making them read the documentation is as likely as enforcing prohibition.
It can't be done.

All of the other responses to this questions are relevant, useful, and in
some cases extremely witty.  But there's another point that gets missed
here.  If users aren't reading the documentation, it is often because it's
completely irrelevant.  Either the design is so good that traditional doc is
unnecessary (if so I have bridge in Brooklyn that I want to unload), or it's
because your users follow other routes.  Are they asking their neighbors?
Are they blowing up the network with their experiments? Are they shoving the
task off on somebody who is comfortable?  Traditional documentation simply
can't address those kinds of user support scenarios.

Don't just ask the users about the documentation, ask them about the
product.  Does it let them do their job more easily?  more quickly? How many
post-it notes are stuck up on the monitor?  It usually means that it's a
task that is not intuitive, or seldom used.  So then go back to the
engineers and tell them.  Maybe a wizard is a better answer.  Maybe tooltips
or context-sensitive help is the right support solution.  The point is don't
wait until the product is in release to find out how to support the users.
Design a better product--and you have as much to contribute to that process
as the engineers.

MTC

She who believes techwhirlers are really product designers
Connie Giordano

-----Original Message-----
From: S Godfrey [mailto:kittenbreath -at- lycos -dot- com]
Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2001 11:59 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: Making them read the documentation


I've searched the archives on this, but have not found a satisfactory
answer. And, perhaps it needs discussing again.

The question: how do you get those darn users to read your beautiful
technical documentation?

In my company, not only our users, but our installation people fail to refer
to the manual. I set it up to be either read, or quickly referred to. But
still, our installation people repeatedly ask engineering the most basic
questions - ones that are answered easily in the manual. For whatever
reason, no one wants to read it. 

Maybe it's the format (in a binder--also offered online as PDF). Maybe
they're just lazy. All I know is, I can't seem to relate to them because I
personally read manuals and instructions when I have equipment that I need
to know how to operate. 

I know you will all have different ideas for me, that's what I love about
this list, especially since I have trouble separating myself from the
problem. 

This ties in with a bigger question: if they're not reading it, why is it
(or me) necessary? Can the answer be only that documentation is necessary
for those few people who actually do read the manual?

Thanks
Sierra Godfrey

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