Re: Putting doc email address in user docs?

Subject: Re: Putting doc email address in user docs?
From: Katherine Hostetter <katherin -at- EFN -dot- ORG>
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 1997 12:11:18 -0700

Damien Braniff wrote:
> When we
> last did a totally new product here I sent out a questionnaire with the
> lit. Nothing fancy, just one page that asked them to "score" the lit 1-10
> for each of the manual set - about 15 in all (over hal were small
> datasheets). So far I have only had one reply back and that was from an
> internal customer at our parent company!! Still we keep trying.

I began by replying to Damien and then realized this might be an
interesting topic for everyone.
How do we get customer feedback?

I know I wouldn't fill out a 1-10 rating on even five of the 15 manuals
unless I had very strong feelings about them. This scale is too finely
grained for the casual use one usually has for manuals. A scale of 1-5
would be more appropriate, if a scale is useful at all.

Why rate each of the 15 manuals separately? Are they in different
formats? Do they have different authors? What information is needed
from this survey?

I would want to know:
Is this information useful?
What is the most useful feature in the manual?
What is the least useful feature?
How would the reader like the manual improved?

If I were to ask for any more information I might ask the user to
describe an experience they had with the manual. This would give me a
clue where they first looked for the information, etc.

It might not be workable for some companies but how about a small prize
for a couple of the customers who returned their surveys. Customer
names could be collected and a drawing conducted quarterly--or whatever
works for that company. I know I tend to fill out reasonable forms when
there's a prize.

Just some suggestions,
Katherine Hostetter

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