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> You can't write a manual that's better than the product.
>
> --Wayne
=====
Sorry, Wayne, but I beg to differ...
I've documented some pretty awful (consumer) hardware and software -- in
environments where the developers constantly stressed:
"Those are NOT bugs, they're features!"
--and--
"Works as designed!!!"
Yet a good documentation team:
* can make a difficult product easy to install and use
* can recommend troubleshooting fixes for when the hardware/
software doesn't do things as you'd expect it should
* can present it in a clear, concise, user-friendly manner
(with screen shots, bullet/number lists, and a comprehensive
TOC and Index) so that end-users don't realize that the product
is nearly as bad as it really is.
I was the manager of a doc department. As they say,
"Been there...done that!"
