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Subject:Re: Using functional specifications as help From:Michael Lewis <lewism -at- BRANDLE -dot- COM -dot- AU> Date:Fri, 20 Feb 1998 10:42:06 +1100
This is the difference between "describing what the thing does" and
"explaining how to use it". As another poster correctly says, there's a
huge audience difference -- but, as Barbara rightly suspects, there's
also a huge difference in task orientation.
Remember what used to happen before there were technical communicators
(and what still happens when programmers write the user docs)? The users
may be bowled over by the cleverness and complexity of the product, but
they have to work out for themselves how to complete the task at hand.
Barbara Holcombe wrote:
> Our company develops broadcasting software and I write the online help
> for the software. There has been some debate at our company as to whether
> or not our clients can use functional specifications to help them use our
> software. I guess this would be a replacement for the online help we are
> currently writing. My feeling is that functional specs are too technical
> for clients and they do not tell the clients how to do the things they
> need to do.
--
Michael Lewis
Brandle Pty Limited, Sydney, Australia
PO Box 1249, Strawberry Hills, NSW 2012
Suite 8, The Watertower, 1 Marian St, Redfern 2016 http://www.brandle.com.au/~lewism
Tel +61-2-9310-2224 ... Fax +61-2-9310-5056
