Re(2): Redundancy - Necessary?

[Jan Henning <henning -at- r-l -dot- de>]

>> I think I am being redundant.  But I can just hear the testers (the primary
>> audience for the document) saying, "Why isn't the Woobbly Factor field
>> displaying for Doodads?"  That's why I think I should leave it in.  But,
>> alas, I am torn.  I would appreciate input.
>
>I think you've answered your question. There are times when an extra sentence
>or phrase makes something that seems implicitly clear explicitly clear.

If you're so inclined, you can do a cost/benefit analysis of sorts on
this basis. On the cost side, add up the time it takes each reader to
read and understand the sentence, multiplied by the number of readers,
plus the time you need to write, edit, correct, etc. the sentence. (In
theory, you could also add the cost of paper, but for one sentence, the
is almost certainly negligable.)

On the benefit side, add up the time a reader would otherwise (i.e.,
lacking your sentence) spend figuring out the fact, again multiplied by
the number of readers. You could add the time readers may spend making
and correct mistakes based on a misunderstanding, although sensible
estimates may be hard to come by for this.

Regards
Jan Henning

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Jan Henning
ROSEMANN & LAURIDSEN GMBH
Am Schlossberg 14, D-82547 Eurasburg, Germany

Phone: +49 700 0200 0700, Fax: +49 81 79 93 07 12
E-Mail: henning -at- r-l -dot- de, Web: www.r-l.de
Handelsregister: München HRB 99345
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