Re: Procedures - Must we use numbered steps?

["Surag R" <suragtechwriter -at- gmail -dot- com>]

Hi Steven,

It is better to use numbered lists while writing procedures and use
bulletted lists while describing features. I think recipe writers should
learn from technical writers :)

Regards,
Surag

On 4/18/06, Steven Brown <stevenabrown -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote:
>
> Hello all,
>
> We spend a great deal of time formatting numbered
> procedures and the numbered substeps that are often
> embedded within them. (How many times have we
> struggled with Word's autonumbering?) It's become an
> accepted practice that when you write a procedure, you
> use numbers to show the sequence of steps.
>
> But I wonder, is it really necessary to use numbered
> steps at all? Gordon Meyer's Usable Help blog
> (http://www.g2meyer.com/usablehelp/index.html)
> recently discussed what techncial writers might learn
> from recipe writers. While he doesn't raise the issue
> of numbered steps, it struck me that recipes rarely
> use numbered steps at all, yet somehow cookbook
> readers are able to follow a fairly complex sequence
> of tasks.
>
> So I ask, have you ever considered writing procedures
> without numbers?
>
> (And please, please. I'm not suggesting that numbered
> procedures should be struck from all technical
> documentation, so please don't raise the typical Space
> Shuttle and nuclear reactor examples to prove a point.
> I'm merely wondering if numbered steps must be used in
> all situations.)
>
> Steven Brown
>
>
>
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