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.
Subject:RE: Training docs vs. user documentation? From:"Locke, David" <dlocke -at- bindview -dot- com> To:TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Fri, 28 Jan 2000 13:35:04 -0600
Mr Smith said:
> How do writers typically differentiate training
> documentation from user documentation?
Training manuals are scenarios where user manuals are use cases. Training
manuals may also be more conceptual. And, in the worst case, they are
exactly the same in terms of text or treatment.
Training manuals typically measure their results against some performance
goals defined during instructional design. Some of these measure my look at
student performance, but other measures need to look class performance or
the performance of the instruction. Assumptions particularly in the
definition of the learner/reader need to be tested.
David W. Locke
-----Original Message-----
From: Geoff hart [mailto:Geoff-H -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA]
Sent: Friday, January 28, 2000 7:39 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Cc: 'Mr Smith'
Subject: Training docs vs. user documentation?
Mr Smith wondered <<How do writers typically differentiate training
documentation from user documentation?>>
On the whole, both are still forms of user documentation; they differ
largely based on who will be using them and when. Training docs are intended
to get the reader comfortable enough to use the software with a basic degree
of efficiency and (ideally) give the reader the confidence to learn more
things by consulting the user documentation. The user docs, on the other
hand, are what you use once you already know the basics of a product and
want to learn how to do more.
--Geoff Hart, Pointe-Claire, Quebec
geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
"The paperless office will arrive when the paperless toilet
arrives."--Matthew Stevens
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Sponsored by Weisner Associates Inc., Online Information Services
Training & consulting for RoboHELP, Dreamweaver, HTML, and HTML-Based Help.
More info at http://www.weisner.com/train/ or mailto:training -at- weisner -dot- com -dot-
Register now for a Professional Technical Writing Certificate at
www.online-learning.com/index1.html. An ideal professional development
opportunity, PTW begins February 15, 2000 and lasts 4 months.
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: dlocke -at- BINDVIEW -dot- COM
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-10315J -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
