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Subject:To FAQ or not to FAQ? From:"Hart, Geoff" <Geoff-H -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Mon, 15 Sep 2003 12:23:04 -0400
/kevin wonders: <<Do you think that there's value in perpetuating an issue
in the form of a FAQ, or does it make more sense to just incorporate it
(with perhaps some emphasis) in the regular documents, when the next
opportunity arises?>>
There's merit to both: putting the information directly into the
documentation, whether printed or online, integrates the information with
the main way people will seek a solution after the guy or gal in the next
cubicle fails to solve their problem. On the other hand, many people look
into an FAQ when they try to solve problems. As well, an FAQ could be seen
as a checklist of "things that need to be improved in the next version",
since a recurring need to ask the same question is a clear indication of a
design flaw.
If you're going to create an FAQ, organize the material into groups of
closely related topics, provide a table of contents for these groups, and
consider providing an index. Nothing is less effective than an unsearchable
(or poorly searchable) group of randomly organized thoughts--that forces
readers to skim the entire collection of trivia in a vain effort to find the
one topic that interests them.
--Geoff Hart, geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
(try ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca if you get no response)
Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
580 boul. St-Jean
Pointe-Claire, Que., H9R 3J9 Canada
"Wisdom is one of the few things that look bigger the further away it
is."--Terry Pratchett
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