RE: Procedures - Must we use numbered steps?

["Dubin, David" <David -dot- Dubin -at- sage -dot- com>]

The original question was, "So I ask, have you ever considered writing
procedures without numbers?"  My answer to that is from an adult learning
perspective and a curriculum development perspective rather than a tech
writing perspective; however I believe they should be the same.

I absolutely believe that procedures (and processes, and steps) must be
numbered if you are presenting them as part of a unified process. Using the
cookbook analogy, if you bulleted them, in what order do you add the sugar?
After you break the eggs and add milk, or before? Simply saying that the
order in which they are presented should provide enough basis for order is
not valid, as many adult learners need the structure that numerical
enumeration provides - they need those building blocks to feel confident.

David B. Dubin, PHR 
Senior Curriculum Developer 
Sage Software 
727-579-1111 x 3356
david -dot- dubin -at- sage -dot- com
Your business in mind.
>

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