Re: Techwriter Aptitude Test (A Daydream)

[Chris Hamilton <chamilton -at- GR -dot- COM>]

Megan McMacken wrote:
>
> Mike brings up an interesting phenomenon.  We as technical writers complain
> when the users won't read the documentation we spend time and money putting
> together, but how often do any of us read through or even skim the manuals
> for the gadgets we buy?  I usually wait until I'm thoroughly stuck before I
> pull out the manual.  Perhaps that's because so few manuals I have run
> across are well-written, and it's easier for me to just figure it out myself
> and learn in the process.

Or maybe it's just that a lot of people work that way: let me try it,
then if it doesn't work, I'll read the manual. I think that's a
perfectly good way to learn and a perfectly good niche for the manual to
fill. The reason I don't read software manuals much is because I've used
a lot of software. I suspect I can figure out about 80 percent of what I
need to do. If I can't figure it out, then I'll read the manual.

If the goal of the documentation is to always be the first place the
user goes, even before they try to figure it out, I don't think that's a
realistic goal. It's not that I dislike reading the manual; it's that
I've got enough experience that I use the manual strategically to
maximize my efficiency.

On something like a digital alarm clock, they pretty much follow the
same pattern. I can look at the thing, see the "Alarm", "Time", "Hour",
and "Minute" buttons and use my previous experience to figure out what I
need to know without looking at the doc, which would be a waste of my
time. If you assume the candidates own or have used a digital alarm
clock, then you don't want them to read the manual to confirm what they
already know; that's inefficient. You want them to get to work, then
look at the manual as they need to.

But that's just one man's opinion (that does not belong to my employer)

--
Chris Hamilton, Senior Technical Writer
Greenbrier & Russel
847.330.4146
http://www.gr.com
chamilton -at- gr -dot- com
-------------------------
The opinions listed in this message are mine. No one claimed them after
30 days, so I get to keep them. They do not reflect the views of
Greenbrier & Russel, Inc.

Posts: mailto:techwr-l -at- listserv -dot- okstate -dot- edu
Commands: mailto:listserv -at- listserv -dot- okstate -dot- edu (e.g. SIGNOFF TECHWR-L)
Archives: http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html,
	http://www.documentation.com/, or http://www.dejanews.com/
Subjects: JOB:, QUESTION:, SUMMARY:, ANNOUNCE:, or none of these.