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I took Dr. JoAnn Hackos' minimalism seminar a few days
ago and found it very interesting. She gave lots of
examples of how reducing document size can make the
docs more effective. She provided practical examples
of how extra words can reduce the effectiveness of
instructions.
One thing she said seemed particularly germane to many
discussions on the list, which I will paraphrase. Many
technical writers are at the advanced beginner stage
of proficiency with the software they are documenting.
Thus, they spend a lot of time and space documenting
what they are familiar with -- which tends to be
navigating the menus. They do not necessarily take the
time to document at a deeper level and how to
effectively use the software in a task-based way. Less
time should be devoted to instructions such as Click
Save, and more time to understanding the software at a
deeper level.
Lois Patterson
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