Re: CD versus printed documentation

["Chris Morton" <salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com>]

Well, I don't know about the research, but as a prolific consumer of
consumer electronics devices, media, and software, I'd want both. For
general consumer goods (neither software nor PC-related), a DVD is a great
way to "sell the sizzle," e.g., reinforce my purchasing decision in an
easy-to-use/distribute manner. I'd also take into account my target
demographic vis-a-vis reading tendencies among that group.

For software or anything PC-related, printed material would be more
definitive and could be used alongside the computer. Unless I had dual
monitors, I wouldn't want to be running the DVD on the computer at the same
time as attempting to learn software. BUT... if I could perhaps run the DVD
on a laptop while learning software on a desktop system, that's acceptable.
I'd want some research pertaining to how many homes within my target
purchasing group have a two-monitor setup or both a desktop and laptop
system.

Why not dump a PDF of the manual on the DVD? The consumer gets the best of
both worlds and your distribution costs are lower. If the consumer wants a *
printed* manual, they can supply the paper, ink, and three-ring binder.

> Chris Morton

On Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 7:10 AM, Vint, Abigail (Innovatia) <
Abigail -dot- Vint -at- innovatia -dot- net> wrote:

> Hi there,
>
>
>
> I'm currently doing some work for a consumer product company that is
> very focused on the usability and the user experience. They are in the
> process of making some decisions about the packaging for their product
> and I am trying to find some research that has been done on the user
> experience and documentation.
>
>
>
> Does anyone know of any studies or research that talk about the best
> user experience when it comes to documentation in a box? Do users want
> printed materials? Do users want a CD with interactive materials? Do
> they want both? Are there other websites or sources you can recommend to
> find this information?
>
>
>
> Our client is not necessarily interested in the cost-saving factor at
> this stage - they are trying to determine what is best for the user and
> are looking for research to back this recommendation up.
>
>
>
> Thank you
>
> Abigail Vint
>
>
>
> Abigail Vint
>
> Senior Technical Writer
>
> 905-366-6359
>
> Innovatia
>
> abigail -dot- vint -at- innovatia -dot- net
>
> www.innovatia.net
>
>
>
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