Re: Follow-up to question about getting feedback from users

[Robert Lauriston <robert -at- lauriston -dot- com>]

This isn't about you as the docs manager. It's a privacy issue for the customer.

When your customer is browsing your Web site, they're accessing your
computer, and you're monitoring that use, which (absent local laws and
any privacy policies to the contrary) is your right.

When your customer is using a local help file, collecting feedback
without permission is an invasion of their privacy.

Any promise that the data will be used only in aggregate must be
backed up by a written privacy policy that the user has a chance to
read before agreeing to have the data collected.

On Thu, Sep 24, 2009 at 3:17 PM, Sharon Burton <sharon -at- anthrobytes -dot- com> wrote:
> At the risk of sounding stupid - I seriously don't see the issue, here.
>
> But I look at a lot of stuff thru a Docs Manager lens. If I could find out
> that the bulk of my users *never* use this part of the online help and so
> could stop expending resources on it, wouldn't that be good? If we could
> find out that people *always* search for help on the X task, then can't that
> improve our products?
>
> In this economic time, you can use this product to make the help better/more
> focused/more relevant to the user. You can make the business case for doing
> stuff or not doing stuff. It beats the hell out of throwing Docs over the
> wall and hoping something gets thrown back.
>
> It lets you show that people are using the help. Doesn't that go to the core
> of proving our worth? I think that discussion has been beaten to death on
> the lists lately and this is a way to find out our worth.
>
> Again, this is not tracking what Joe in Tulsa is doing in the help. It's
> about the same level of tracking in any website you visit.
>
> We spend years of our life trying to find out how to help our users and what
> they think of our deliverables. Feedback does that invisibly to the user and
> helps you make the User Assistance better.
>
> How is that bad? What am I missing? It's not a violation of your privacy
> because you're never identified.
>
>
> sharon
>
> Sharon Burton
> MadCap Software Product Consultant
> Managing your content, one topic at a time
> www.anthrobytes.com
> 951-369-8590
> IM: sharonvburton -at- yahoo -dot- com
> Twitter: sharonburton
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: techwr-l-bounces+sharon=anthrobytes -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+sharon=anthrobytes -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
> Behalf Of Dan Goldstein
> Sent: Thursday, September 24, 2009 12:59 PM
> To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: RE: Follow-up to question about getting feedback from users
>
> If I were considering buying a software product, and I knew that it
> included the invisible tracking of Help file usage, I'd first ask if the
> tracking could be disabled or blocked.
>
> If it couldn't be disabled, then I certainly wouldn't buy the product!
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Sharon Burton
>> Sent: Thursday, September 24, 2009 3:42 PM
>> To: 'Donna Marino'; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>> Subject: RE: Follow-up to question about getting feedback from users
>>
>> +++I work part time for MadCap++++
>>
>> If you use MadCap's products, they have a product called
>> Feedback that will invisibly track what the users are doing
>> in the help and would answer many of your questions. I think
>> it's one of the most useful products they make.
>>
>
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> Free Software Documentation Project Web Cast: Covers developing Table of
> Contents, Context IDs, and Index, as well as Doc-To-Help
> 2009 tips, tricks, and best practices.
> http://www.doctohelp.com/SuperPages/Webcasts/
>
> Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
> authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
> once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/
>
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Free Software Documentation Project Web Cast: Covers developing Table of
Contents, Context IDs, and Index, as well as Doc-To-Help  
2009 tips, tricks, and best practices.
http://www.doctohelp.com/SuperPages/Webcasts/

Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/

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