TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
>So if quality documentation takes time and has a minimum number of pages,
>why do all the Technical Writing experts advocate estimating techniques
>based upon page count?
Because when asked to come up with metrics, people almost invariably come up
with the thing that is easiest to count, rather than the thing that is most
meaningful.
In truth, the quality of documentation cannot be measured by its physical
characteristics. It must be measured by its behavioral characteristics.
In the simplest terms, the purpose of all communication is to change
behavior. To assess a document you must determine what behavior the author
was trying to provoke and then see if the reader displays that behavior.
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Mark Baker
Senior Technical Communicator
OmniMark Technologies Corporation
1400 Blair Place
Gloucester, Ontario
Canada, K1J 9B8
Phone: 613-745-4242
Fax: 613-745-5560
Email mbaker -at- omnimark -dot- com
Web: http://www.omnimark.com
