Re: Benchmarking Technical Documentation

[Andrew Plato <intrepid_es -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

"Jane Carnall" wrote...

> If I am writing instructions on how to program the VCR or how to use
> voicemail on a phone, I don't *need* to know how the VCR works or how
the
> phone works. (Though I maintain that the more you learn, the better. But
> then I enjoy information, the more arcane and useless the better... <g>)

> I *do* need to know how the user will use that item of equipment or this

> piece of software.

No - you do *NEED* to know. 

Its a matter of evaluation. Even if you are not going to document exactly
how something works, you need to comprehend the functions. This allows you
to accurately evaluate the information you're presenting to the user. 

Maybe you can gloss over some of the more esoteric aspects of the "How."
But a basic understanding of how something works is necessary to
documenting it properly.  It should never be "optional." 

Andrew Plato 

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger
http://phonecard.yahoo.com/

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

*** Deva(tm) Tools for Dreamweaver and Deva(tm) Search ***
Build Contents, Indexes, and Search for Web Sites and Help Systems
Available now at http://www.devahelp.com or info -at- devahelp -dot- com

Learn about tools and technologies for user assistance developers at
The Help Technology Conference, August 21-24 in Boston, MA
Details and online registration at http://www.SolutionsEvents.com


---
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.