Re: Understanding v. instruction

[Elna Tymes <etymes -at- LTS -dot- COM>]

Walker, Arlen P wrote:
>
>       With a little imagination, anything at all can be used for just about
>       anything at all. We're talking about what, in general of course, the
>       product is designed for -- its "intended use." To talk about what
>       someone *might* do with a product aside from that (or something
>       close) is basically irrelevant to the discussion. Someone might do
>       anything.
>
> Actually, Jeff, that was exactly the point I was making. The fact that
> people are so darned inventive refutes the idea that the information
> provided by the company is more important than the product.
>
I think you missed my point.  Information helps customers make a
buy/don't buy decision.  Information helps them continue to use a
product correctly, and talk about it to others. (And believe me, any
marketer worth his salt will tell you about the value of word of
mouth.)
Let me give you an example:  after several others here recommended Dr.
Joanne Hackos' book about managing documentation projects, I went out
and got my own copy because I wanted to see what *else* it contained
besides the quick-ref guide to estimating different kinds of writing
projects.  In this case, the information - the quick-ref guide - was
pre-sale information about the product - the book.  The information led
me to believe that there would be other useful tools in the product.
(A  belief that turned out to be true.) So I bought the product.  Here,
of course, the analogy breaks down because the product really IS more
information, but I think you get my point.

> You can't possibly document all the uses someone might put your product to.

<sigh> And nobody SAID we should!  Expand your definition of
"information," man!  It's not just the user manual, but everything that
comes with the product, including all of the pre-sale literature, the
carefully placed articles in the trade press, the equally carefully
placed product reviews, the testimonials from beta customers, etc.

As has been so well demonstrated by Novell, software customers really
object to not having paper documentation come with a new software
product, even though they may not open the books at all, and even if the
company swears that all the docs are on a CD or available free from a
web site.  They may not use the docs, but the docs give the product
credibility.

Many of us on this list - you too, Arlen - can give plenty of examples
on documentation projects that started out with some busy techie handing
us a product and telling us that nobody needed documentation because the
operation was self-evident.  If that were true, yes I'd have to admit
that product was more important than information.  But I have yet to see
a product arrive in the marketplace without information surrounding it.

Want another example?  When I buy a new car, I don't read the user
manual or most of the other literature.  But I want to know it's there -
in a safe place - when I need it.  Like if I get a flat tire, I want to
be able to use the manual to find where THIS manufacturer stored the
jack and where on THIS car I'm supposed to use it.  Or what's covered by
the warranty, or when I'm supposed to get what kind of service checks.
Or, for that matter, how to reset the digital clock when we go from
Standard to Daylight time (or back).  I'd be very annoyed if I didn't
get that informatio with the purchase of the car.

Elna Tymes
Los Trancos Systems

 TECHWR-L (Technical Communication) List Information: To send a message
to 2500+ readers, e-mail to TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot-  Send commands
   to LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU (e.g. HELP or SIGNOFF TECHWR-L).
  Search the archives at http://www.documentation.com/  or search and
browse the archives at http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html