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I guess by FAQ I mean frequently asked questions. The FAQs I used to publish on an Intranet site tended to range widely in topics covered. And if I go to investigate software, I often find that that's where they mention cost and other details. I'm then a little annoyed that there is no obvious place for cost - it's hidden in a FAQ.
As to indexing, you're quite correct that these can be indexed. I was thinking of TOCs actually (got used to calling them indexes in an online environment). For Table of Contents, calling something Frequently Asked Questions doesn't give the user much idea of the content behind that.
Personally, I don't like things that are mishmashes of info - I'd rather have them in their appropriate sections. But there is a place for FAQs too I think. This would be for basic things answered in an informal style, just quick hits. Especially if the FAQ is nice and short.
Eileen
Eileen Neumann
Business Rules & Procedures Specialist
As in so much else, I believe "that depends" may be a correct answer.
If by FAQ you mean specific instructions for performing common tasks,
then there is certainly a place for that. Indexing needn't be a
problem, since we have been doing procedural guides from the
beginning, right? If your present doc sets have such procedures
included, how do you now index them? In fact, indexes are quite
simple, as one procedure may appear in many different index topics
without violating the usefulness of the index in the slightest.
Merely dressing it up and calling it a "FAQ" does not remove the
usefulness--and may give modern users a familiar paradigm that is
useful.
Other kinds of "common questions" should certainly be dealt with in
the document but may not deserve being treated separately in this way.
David
>
> The problem with putting info into a FAQ format is that it's hard to index by subject - it tends to cover many subjects on one page. For online use however, info in a FAQ may be returned in in a search on a specific subject. This option isn't available in a manual.
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