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Re: Butt-or-ego insulation query

Subject: Re: Butt-or-ego insulation query
From: Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2003 10:36:15 -0800


KMcLauchlan -at- chrysalis-its -dot- com wrote:

How many of you would likely have caught the omission that embarrassed our customer?

Is this one of those "you live and learn" situations, or is it "a competent and thorough TW would have covered all the scenarios that a customer would encounter"?? I confess that his situation never even crossed my mind.


I don't know for sure, of course, but I like to think that I would have caught the omission. My general approach is to make every document as self-contained as possible. If lack of space was a problem, I probably would have included a note somewhere to the effect that "token rings must be initialized before backing up. For detailed instructions, see the User's Manual."

The reason I'm so cautious is that, based on my own reactions, I believe that even experienced users can forget basic information, especially if they're in a hurry or don't use it all the time. A brief reminder seems far better than making too many assumptions about the audience's knowledge and current state of mind.

--
Bruce Byfield bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com 604.421.7177

http://members.axion.net/~bbyfield

"When you wake up to the fact that your paper is Tory,
Just remember: there's two sides to every story."
- Billy Bragg, "It Says Here"




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References:
Butt-or-ego insulation query: From: KMcLauchlan

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