Setting up a standard for User Manuals -Reply

[Carol Van Natta <CVANNATT -at- ITC -dot- NRCS -dot- USDA -dot- GOV>]

I'm not exactly sure what kind of standards you think you
want -- organization? content (required chapters)? look and
feel? language style? grammar & spelling? These are the
types of things usually covered by in-house style manuals.

As with any document, it kind of depends on what you want
your style manual to accomplish. Establish a record of your
documentation decisions? Help another writer (or even a
contractor) produce documentation that looks like it came
from the same company? Convince other writers in other
groups that they ought to be following your (or at least
SOME) standards? Answering these questions will tell you a
lot about what should be in your style manual and what level
of detail you include.


>>> Coetta A Lampe <clampe -at- OKWAY -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU>
12/8/97  10:42 am >>>
     I need to devise a document for "standards" to use in the
area where I
     work.  I am not aware of any that currently exist here.  I
am the
     "lone" writer for the applications that the group in my
department
     produces (everyone else is a programmer).

     I have produced several in the past couple of years and I
have
     documented some of my own ideas.  I would appreciate
feedback relating
     to the content that I should include. I want to include, at
least,
     what most of you believe is important.

     Maybe you can point me to some good references.

     Thank you.


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