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Re: Must documentation always follow the UI?

Subject: Re: Must documentation always follow the UI?
From: Gene Kim-Eng <techwr -at- genek -dot- com>
To: "Cardimon, Craig" <ccardimon -at- M-S-G -dot- com>, "'TechWhirl (techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com)'" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 2015 12:30:10 -0700

Have you talked to anyone to find out whether there is a functional reason for the current layout, even if it doesn't seem as if there is? If not, then the first priority should really be to get the functions reordered on the landing page. And if that doesn't go anywhere, I'd describe it the way it is.

Documenting a poorly designed UI doesn't make it any less so, but documenting it the way it probably should be rather than the way it really is will just call more attention to the low quality of its design.

Gene Kim-Eng



On 9/23/2015 12:18 PM, Cardimon, Craig wrote:

Hello, Whirlers,

How important is it that documentation exactly follow the interface?

Hypothetical question: On the landing page of an application, functions are laid out in non-alphabetical order. There doesn't *seem* to be a functional reason for laying it out the way it is. Maybe they were developed in this order. Let's say it looks a bit random. Something like this:


* Crotons

* Abercrombie

* Donuts

* Fish

* Ectoplasm

* Birds

* Guppies

I was thinking that if I were writing the documentation, that I might lay out the docs in alphabetical order, to be more pleasing to the eye. Something like this:


* Abercrombie

* Birds

* Crotons

* Donuts

* Ectoplasm

* Fish

* Guppies

What would you all handle this situation?

Cordially,
Craig Cardimon | Senior Technical Writer


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References:
Must documentation always follow the UI?: From: Cardimon, Craig

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