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Re: Most embarasssing error (was Finding errors in manuals)
Subject:Re: Most embarasssing error (was Finding errors in manuals) From:Ned Bedinger <doc -at- edwordsmith -dot- com> To:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com Date:Sat, 19 May 2007 13:19:31 -0700
I once created a software tool to help me in creating back of book
indexes. I thought it worked pretty well, so I created an installer and
announced my program as a free beta on index-l. Several early adopters
downloaded it and installed it on their WORK machines. Sadly for them,
the installer was primitive--it put the necessary files in the correct
locations on their hard drives, but didn't check whether a newer version
of the file was already installed. Dam Ned! The installer overwrote
their Windows 98 DLLs with my Windows 95 DLLs. It <sob> completely hosed
their Win 98 and their MS Office applications.
OMG, I'll never forget the hot and cold running shame of it. It was
horrifying to get those distressed phone calls, to be the one
responsible for trashing so many working indexers' PCs. Still, it had
one redeeming quality for me: it was thrilling to be at the center of a
real software development cycle--the spotlight is a huge aide in
ferreting out the ways in which my process had room for improvement. The
app itself had potential and worked. So I fixed the installer and
re-offer it, but no one would touch it with a ten-foot pole after the
fiasco that was its first release.
The moral of the story is that when everything goes right and looks
easy, it is probably because the people behind it have been through the
wringer at the School of Hard Knocks in getting it to that point. Tech
writers know this already--every day is a tough series of linguistic
outpouring and endless fine tunings to turn mad jumbles of information
into smoothed, massaged manuals that are easy and complete for the
users. That we ever get the job done is a miracle, a mystery, a
testimony to our dedication. OMG2, it is so much harder than programming!
Ned "Did you try reinstalling Windows and Office yet?" Bedinger
doc -at- edwordsmith -dot- com
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