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Subject:Re: Please describe value of Information Mapping From:Yves JEAUROND <jingting -at- rogers -dot- com> To:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com Date:Mon, 7 Apr 2008 06:38:58 -0400 (EDT)
Bob Doyle:
Huh? Euclid? Euclid was writing structurally circa 400 BC.
His _Elements of Geometry_ had such an effect on scientific writing
that his "more geometrico" structured style was used by Descartes,
Spinoza (Ethics), Newton (Principia), Kant... and many others,
for math, science and philosophy.
Richard Feynman even spoofed the style for his discussion of planetary orbits.
Minimalism did innovate, yet it remains an extension of more geometrico
and other textbook styles.
Regards,
YJ
Bob Doyle <bobdoyle -at- skybuilders -dot- com> a écrit :
Hi Bill,
Not before I was born!
I was at Harvard doing graduate study in the 1960's when Bob Horn developed
the ideas of structured writing.
Have you read John Brockmann' s Millwrights and Shipwrights - HIstory of
Tech Comm?
Although help systems have always chunked information, the idea that there
are common structures - information types - in many types of technical
documents, that those common structures should be handled in a standard way
to improve the end user experience, seems to me a definite contribution to
tech comm.
It is definitely not something just anyone can do by "common sense."
The whole MInimalism movement in the 1990's showed that the average
technical document was just not being read or used.
Do you agree with that? If so, shouldn't we all try to benefit from proven
research that tech docs can be improved by following good practices and
document standards?
Maybe you are just so young that Structured Writing and Minimalism are
everyday common sense to you? If so, that's fine. But I am in my seventies
and still learning that I can do things better if I study the best practices
in a profession.
> > Information Mapping introduced the idea of Information Types, among
> them
> > Concepts, Procedures, Processes, Principles, Structure, and Facts.
>
> Those ideas were around before any of us were born. Information
> Mapping merely saw an opportunity and seized a market by productizing
> those age-old common sense practices.
>
> --
> Bill Swallow
> HATT List Owner
> WWP-Users List Owner
> Senior Member STC, TechValley Chapter
> STC Single-Sourcing SIG Manager
>http://techcommdood.blogspot.com
>
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Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or
printed documentation. Features include support for Windows Vista & 2007
Microsoft Office, team authoring, plus more. http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList
True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
documentation. Boost your productivity! http://www.helpandmanual.com
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