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Re: Chattiness in manuals

Subject: Re: Chattiness in manuals
From: "Paul Pehrson" <paulpehrson -at- gmail -dot- com>
To: TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2006 10:29:39 -0600

I hadn't seen this tread, but I had this very conversation this morning as I
met with my team in our SCRUM meeting. The app we are creating has a couple
of one-time setup procedures that can take from 15 to 30 minutes, but when
completed make future uses of the app amazingly fast. However, there is a
2-5 minute delay between when users click the start button and when the
process appears on the status screen. I asked the team what the delay is.
Turns out the processor is loading information in preparation for the
process it is about to run.

One of the engineers said, 'Well, you see the hourglass, so you know its
running.'

I said, "Couldn't we still put it on the Status page and say "loading
information" or something?"

And somebody else said, "We could just team up with Starbucks and add a line
to the documentation that says, 'Go to Starbucks and get some coffee. This
will hopefully be done before you get back.'"

My boss smiled, but I don't think he would approve the manual by the time it
got to the review cycle.

Anyway, had to share.

-Paul Pehrson
Midvale, UT- Show quoted text -



On 10/17/06, Dick Margulis <margulisd -at- comcast -dot- net > wrote:


SaraTörök wrote:

> I'm looking for an answer to my question, a solution to my problem,
facts,
> facts, facts. Don't waste my time with chitchat, jokes and anecdotes.
I'm
> not up for it right now. I'm trying to do my job.
>
> Maybe it's cultural...
>


Maybe it is, but setting that aside for the moment, a common behavior
observed in people who are in a hurry and who can't be bothered with
what mere subordinates tell them is that, confronted with a computer
that is not giving them instantaneous visual feedback but is instead
displaying an hourglass, many of them start banging randomly on the
keyboard.

It seems to me that if you are documenting a procedure that includes the
necessity of waiting until a long process runs its course and that does
not have built into it a progress bar or other indicator of time
remaining, it would not be a bad thing to advise the reader to chill for
a few minutes, lest they start banging on keys and clicking things,
thereby disrupting the process and leaving the computer in an unstable
state.

But maybe it's cultural...



Paul Pehrson
Midvale, UT
AIM: nelspaul2004 MSN: paulpehrson(at)gmail.com
www.paulpehrson.com blog.paulpehrson.com
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References:
Re: Chattiness in manuals: From: SaraTörök
Re: Chattiness in manuals: From: Dick Margulis

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