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Subject:RE: reader feedback. From:"Brady, Joy" <JBrady -at- alldata -dot- net> To:"TECHWR-L, a list for all technical communication issues" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Tue, 31 Aug 1999 11:15:43 -0400
A couple of books that I use, and that I've provided
feedback on, have had web site addresses. I could provide feedback there,
but the thing that hooked me was that they had extra samples, or "errata"
that users had found posted. You would want to draw them in in a way that
serves their own interests...
Joy M. Brady
Sr. Technical Writer/Retail Systems Documentation (CAD4A) mailto:jbrady -at- alldata -dot- net <mailto:jbrady -at- alldata -dot- net>
614.729.4645 (voice)
614.729.4499 (fax)
----------
From: Brierley, Sean
[SMTP:Brierley -at- Quodata -dot- Com]
Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 1999 10:48
To: TECHWR-L, a list for all technical
communication issues
Subject: [techwr-l] reader feedback.
Hallo:
I'm r-posting this because I didn't see it show up
on the list after
originally sending it at 09:30. Would some of you
mind letting me know
directly by e-mail if this message hits the list and
if the first one did,
also <mailto:sean -at- quodata -dot- com>.
Anyway:
I know it's been discussed before, but the archives
don't provide an answer
that I can sink my teeth into . . . perhaps there
isn't one.
In what ways can I find out how readers use my
books, what helps, what turns
them off, what additional info they need, and what
is superfluous? It's a
feedback thing.
My company provides free phone support. Our customer
base is continuously
growing. Our support staff is stretched pretty thin.
I can think of no easy
way to track which tech calls could have and could
not have been resolved by
reading the book. Similarly, I can think of no way
to measure a relative
increase or decrease in support calls resulting from
a change in
documentation, and isolating other variables, like
more intuitive GUI.
Since before I got here, software comment forms are
included in all books.
They don't get filled out. If they did, I'm not sure
where they'd go. I'm
also unsure what and how to ask for information,
such that the information
is useful. Also, how do I ensure that the reader
does not fill it out on the
first day, before they use the book, or that the
reader's boss, who does not
use the software, doesn't fill it out? Our customer
base is pretty small. A
good number of responses would be no more than a few
hundred.
General thoughts?
Thanks
Sean
sean -at- quodata -dot- com
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