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I asked Jack Bonney why he was conducting the survey
he posted here. His reply...
readers and users remain very dissatisfied with the quality of
documentation and manuals produced throughout business, industry, and
government.
we have reason to believe that the basic causes of this widespread
dissatisfaction stems from an inadequate foundation (i.e. basic skill
set) for doing this kind of work.
"technical writers" have unreasonably placed their faith in software
packages -- to wit: review all the information and discussion on which
software package to use or to avoid, their features, etc.
nothing exists that resembles a methodology, rather, most discussion
centers around "style" as if every manual should be different for some
unspecified reason -- in fact, there is an annual contest at the
university of waterloo that gives merit for "best looking manual".
we view this work as a vital aspect of administrative management that
has been overlooked for far too long -- in re-engineering a solution
that should be people-, platform-, and application-independent it is
necessary to research prevailing opinions, comments, and suggestions
and then try to separte fact from fiction.
i look forward to receiving your contributions.
thank you in advance for your consideration and assistance.
sincerely,
jack w. bonney,
vancouver canada
--
Don Sargent
Template Software, Inc. "I might only get three strikes in
Dulles, Virginia life, but I can hit foul indefinitely."
sargent -at- template -dot- com -- me
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