FWD: Indexes and page counts -- how low is too low?

[Anonymous Poster <anonfwd -at- RAYCOMM -dot- COM>]

Gang:

I'm revisiting the index page-count thing because I just ran into an issue.

A contractor my company uses just finished updating a software user manual.
This is a how-the-GUI-works kind of book, not super technical. The book,
including TOC, is 740 pages, with a fair amount of graphics (about 2 per
US-letter page). The contractor is contracted to work only on site and to be
here three days a week.

After I was told the job was done, I specifically asked how was the index,
because the previous writer had not included one (though the previous writer
had included a very few number of tags). I was told the index was light but,
when I pressed, that the index was satisfactory and *was* useful, in
conjunction with the TOC.

I'm busy on three other projects simultaneously (which means they're all
on-schedule per my estimates and behind schedule by everyone else's
estimates <g>) so I didn't check the book this morning.

For the 740-page book I found a 1.5-page index. I didn't review the entries.
That index is obviously useless.

My take is that the TOC is used for previewing the topics and structure of a
book, as well as reading ahead about topics and getting general overviews.
Indices are important for finding specific information about specific tasks.
If you need to know what a specific item, term, or whatever, is, it ought to
be in the index. Moreover, a lack of index entry items will translate into
online help that is difficult to use because of a lack of index entries. As
a rule of thumb, I assume a reader will try three times to find something in
a book before tossing the book on the woodpile.

I sent an email (the writer is off today) asking for a meeting and saying I
found the index to be useless. I recommended the contractor spend at least
16-hours adding and checking index entries. I pointed out that, in general,
I would think that a dozen+ pages for the index would be a minimum for a
700-page book.  I explained "my take" as outlined above.

The kicker is that the contractor had another four or five days to work on
the book, and certainly more if they asked.

The contractor works directly for my boss, not for me. The contractor has
made my boss pretty happy: the contractor's time estimates are always less
than mine. However, my estimates are always accurate and, apparently, I
might be inappropriately including a useable index in the time estimate?
Also, the contractor checks with me on issues of style, convention, and for
questions about FrameMaker, screen captures, et al. Typically, I am included
on the edit list (though, for some reason, not this book?). If the
contractor has a question about who to see for information, or even for my
thoughts on scheduling and what's involved, they look me up. I am the only
permanent writer (there are only the two of us in total).

What do you guys think? A, one-and-a-half page index (2 column) for a
740-page book? Besides, the online help that I create using WWP (the book is
in FrameMaker) will have a horrible index . . .. Have I been harsh enough?
Should I go to my boss instead or as well?

Anonymous


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