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Keith -
Glad you responded to Langa. I am doing the same. Maybe we should all
bombard him with our side of the story...
Chris Welch-Hutchings
Senior Technical Writer
Home Wireless Networks, Inc. mailto:cwhutchings -at- homewireless -dot- com
-----Original Message-----
From: Anderson, Keith [mailto:keith_anderson -at- GOOITECH -dot- COM]
Sent: Friday, August 07, 1998 10:40 AM
To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
Subject: Re: Good/bad docs
Christa:
-----Original Message-----
Wow - has anyone read the "What's Up, Docs?" article in the Aug. '98
Windows Magazine?
-----------------------------
I sent Fred Langa an email immediately after I read his column. This is
something I feel strongly about. You see, I think the quality of
documentation is decreasing dramatically due to:
* Corporate cost cutting in areas they don't feel are important to the
bottom line
* The first-to-market mentality, making documentation take a backseat to
quick builds
* The overall decreasing quality in the technology industry
I am as guilty as most. I'm the only writer in my small start-up
company. I'm concurrently writing five different product manuals. I only
have so much time to devote to each. I find myself cutting corners here
and there. Otherwise, I would have to be here 24x7. I have needed
another writer for a long time, but now we have to wait until we sell
more products before I can start interviewing again.
I am also the victim of bad documentation, too. As a technical writer, I
can identify the short-cuts or the inexperience behind much of the
documentation I see.
Overall, the biggest influence on documentation is product quality. Look
at the mentality from the industry leader, Microsoft. There are so many
builds and patches for Windows 95 and Office 97, I can't keep up. This
speaks volumes about what they consider to be a finished product. I
can't even think of one product I own or use at work that does not have
some serious bugs or require some special work-arounds. It's pathetic.
I have seen it posted here over and over again: documentation can only
be as good as its product. If that's true, then no wonder documentation
is taking a nose dive along with the whole industry.
