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Subject:Re: training guide vs. user guide From:"Paul Strasser" <paul -dot- strasser -at- windsor-tech -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 23 May 2002 12:13:13 -0600
A few ideas in random order:
So you have a time constraint. Let them know your manual will be written
with this time constraint. They can either have it extremely detailed but
limited in scope, or cover a lot of stuff superficially. Their choice.
Find out from the instructor the ten main functions that these users will
need to learn. (It might be five functions, or twelve. There are a finite
number of functions that the users will give a darn about.) This will be
your primary list of exercises.
You might want to start out with a simplified exercise on Navigating in the
Software - basically showing the general concepts behind the user interface.
Let's say they want to learn how to create something, edit something, delete
something, or quickly search for something. These can all be quickie
exercises in the tutorial.
To me, the big Warning Flag in this training is that the Instructor and the
Students won't be in the same location. Will the students have to install
the software, or the upgrades, beforehand? This really shouldn't be part of
a tutorial. Is there a database that has to be set up beforehand, with
information on products, locations or whatever pre-loaded? The reason I ask
is that most tutorials I write use a lot of screen captures - probably more
than all my User's Guides and Online Help combined. Generally, the screen
captures are used like the following: "Use the Navigator to locate Site
ABC. When this Site is open, your screen will look like...." What follows
is a precise screen capture of how their own screen should appear. It's a
hand-holding method that leads a user through learning a (sometimes complex)
functionality. Anyway, if all the students are taking this course via
phone, will they be able to see their screens match the screen captures?
(If it matters, I usually find tutorials a lot easier to write than user's
guides. The instructor wants to show the students how to create a Site.
You show them. Often, the writing is slightly less formal.)
Good luck.
Paul Strasser
Windsor Technologies, Inc.
2569 Park Lane, Suite 200
Lafayette, Colorado 80026
Phone: 303-926-1982
FAX: 303-926-1510
E-mail: paul -dot- strasser -at- windsor-tech -dot- com
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