TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:RE: Is there a term for this? From:"Dan Goldstein" <DGoldstein -at- riveraintech -dot- com> To:<techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Wed, 8 Feb 2012 12:32:50 -0500
We design our products and documentation for the users we have, not for
the users we'd like to have. If we had repeated instances of users
discarding crucial documentation, I would begin thinking about other
ways to deliver it.
-----Original Message-----
From: Rochelle McAndrews
Sent: Wednesday, February 08, 2012 12:05 PM
To: John J. McDermott, CPLP; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: RE: Is there a term for this?
In my husband's work in electronics, when end-users create their own
issues, his service tickets sometimes go back to home office with the
code ID - 10 - T User (or shortened to ID10T) as the problem/resolution.
The business owners and office staff as well as the rest of the service
group all know what that term means. More than once, he's found and
unwrapped for equipment users the User Manual that came with their
three-year-old machine, and even shown them how to look up the
information that could have saved their company the $80.00+ per hour
that they are billed to have a service guy come out and read the manual
to them to "get them started". If I were not a Technical Writer whose
work he respects, I'm not sure how he would spend the "show & tell" part
of his on-site visit. However, since it's become typical for CDs (rather
than shrink-wrapped, printed manuals) to accompany the type of equipment
he services, he's been told: Oh, that, it was on CD but we must have
tossed it out with the box and wrapping before anyone printed it out.
I've always liked the term: GIGO (garbage in, garbage out) myself,
because it's more related to the system's ability to process only what
it's given rather than blaming the user's intellect or lack of
information-retrieval skills, outright.
This message contains confidential information intended only for the use of the addressee(s). If you are not the addressee, or the person responsible for delivering it to the addressee, you are hereby notified that reading, disseminating, distributing, copying, electronic storing or the taking of any action in reliance on the contents of this message is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message by mistake, please notify us, by replying to the sender, and delete the original message immediately thereafter. Thank you.
