Re: Challenges facing tech writers

[Elna Tymes <etymes -at- LTS -dot- COM>]

Kris Olberg wrote:

> >Until we can point to statistically defensible studies involving the
> usability
> >of documentation and other learning tools, we're simply going to be talking
> >about our own, admittedly biased, experiences.
>
> Very true. But as I've said, it's up to us to do the studies. We DO have a
> community--it's not necessarily cohesive, but it exists in the form of these
> listservs, newsgroups, web sites, STC chapters (and nat'l org), user's
> groups, etc. I look to the STC to take the lead on these issues and begin
> the charge. Not sure if this will happen since STC leaders appear to be
> ill-focused with few of them having the vision (or time away from their
> precious own companies and book writing stints) to see these problems.

There may eventually be some statistically defensible studies sponsored by STC
that are of sufficient magnitude to be useful, but I don't think most of us will
live that long.  STC doesn't have the resource$ to fund such studies.  However,
based on my own experience I can tell you that one bona-fide public research
instution quoted me a price of $25,000 to perform the kind of study I had in
mind, and my company was willing to pony in 20% of that if we could get two of
our large clients to contribute the other 80%.  Unfortunately, our market went
soft about the point where we were asking, so we had to give up for the time
being. THAT kind of initiative is far more likely to get such a study done -
particularly when you point out to the client company that (a) they're going to
get their names on the study, and (b) it has immediate benefit to their own pubs
groups.

And notice that this path, when the market can support it, both gets the job
done fast and professionally and does not depend on any so-called "community" of
writers to do it.  It's an example of individual initiative, private money, and
some set of folks doing it because they see the benefit to themselves.

Another example of this approach is the work done by Jakob Nielson when he was
at Sun in the area of user interface. Sun benefitted immensely from his user
interface studies and resulting papers, and the rest of us could read the papers
and draw on the research that Sun had paid for.

Granted that sometimes company-sponsored research projects generate papers that
are kept within a company and therefore produce findings that are not available
to the rest of us.

Elna Tymes
Los Trancos Systems

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