TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
giving a toss about documentation (was RE: Academic Res...)
Subject:giving a toss about documentation (was RE: Academic Res...) From:"diotima" <diotima -at- myway -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Thu, 31 Mar 2005 19:58:34 -0500 (EST)
eric wrote:
>Consumers will whine and complain no end about poor VCR documentation, but when presented with two VCRs of identical function, do they give a toss about the documentation? No. They buy the one that's 10$ cheaper.
well, maybe. the first time anyway. but considering that the documentation is part of the product's usability, if i buy a vcr from brand x and i find myself frustrated with it, and if the documentation that came with it only exacerbates that frustration, the total experience may very well stay with me for a long time: brand x = frustration = crap. i don't have to feel angst over "the instructions" for that association to be made.
even if i don't go so far as to return it, a year later when i've moved up in the world and i'm ready to buy a dvd player and i see, lo, brand x dvd player sitting next to half a dozen other models, guess which one i probably won't buy? and just because i don't say, "i'm not buying that one because the instructions suck" doesn't mean that the instructions didn't play any part in my low opinion of the brand.
it happens. some people really do give a toss, maybe not about the documentation per se, but about the total experience of the product, of which usability, of which documentation, is key.
some people care. that's why companies like apple are able to find a niche.
-diotima
_______________________________________________
No banners. No pop-ups. No kidding.
Make My Way your home on the Web - http://www.myway.com
WEBWORKS FINALDRAFT - EDIT AND REVIEW, REDEFINED
Accelerate the document lifecycle with full online discussions and unique feedback-management capabilities. Unlimited, efficient reviews for Word
and FrameMaker authors. Live, online demo: http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
