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Subject:RE: Framemaker, Word and Robohelp From:"Blaine, Karen L." <karen -dot- blaine -at- unisys -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 17 Jan 2001 12:15:20 -0500
Chuck Martin wrote:
|It distresses me to see, time and time again, that "taking a course" is
seen as a solution to |learning about a software package.
Among the positive aspects of taking "taking a course" is that for a new
product, I can get up to speed a lot faster than I could if I'm exploring on
my own.
One of the most valuable things I get out of a course is the interaction
with other people, who often will be using a product very differently than I
expect to use it. This gives me ideas about how I can use it more
efficiently. From the UI and the documentation, I may understand how to do
something, but a course gives me ideas about how to apply the tool to the
best advantage, how to make it work for me.
|While in some cases it may be needed, training more often is about
explaining how to use what
|should have been obvious, if the software had been designed with its users
in mind.
I find that sometimes the practical use of an option isn't clear because the
option was designed for use in a specific industry, and uses terminology not
commonly used in my industry. Without someone (an instructor) to help me
"make the connection", using these options doesn't make sense, therefore I
avoid them even though they have the potential to make my job easier.
|Using FrameMaker as an example, it is essentially one of many word
processors. Many of the |tasks that users would want to do in FrameMaker,
many of the goals that users would want to |reach, are no different than the
ones that would be there if they were using a different package. |And if
users are reasonably familiar with other packages (as I would hope technical
writers with |any amount of experience would be), then the product design
should be such that it lends itself to |communicating its important and
useful functionality. In addition, the documentation, both the
|online Help and the printed materials, should be easily accessible and
should have clear |information bout how users can reach their goals when
they run into difficulty.
|
Having made the transition between products a number of times, part of the
transition required is one of accepting the philosophy of the assumptions
made at product design. Often the product was targeted at a particular
industry, then expanded for general use. Understanding product philosophy
often clarifies all kinds of options, methods, and procedures that otherwise
leave you thinking "What a stupid way to do that!" or "Why ever would I WANT
to do that?"
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