Re: Error Message Appendix

[Alan -dot- Miller -at- prometric -dot- com]

Hi Dave:

Yes, I have done this. I used a number of four-column tables. Each table
contained the errors generated by different parts of the system (server
errors, middleware errors, communication errors, etc.) and was so labeled.
The columns I used were for the error code, error number, error message,
and what it means and what the user should do. I then indexed the list by
error code and message, the tables were sorted by error number. I included
the appendix in both the printed manual and the Online Help (Compiled HTML
Help). Our Help Desk Techs love it. They can quickly find the information
they need to get the user back up and cooking. Now they expect the same for
every system manual ... <sigh> ... no good deed goes unpunished.

Regards,
Al Miller
Chief Documentation Curmudgeon
Prometric, Inc.
Baltimore, MD





"Dave Stewart" <stewed11 -at- hotmail -dot- com>@lists.raycomm.com on 01/15/2002
06:10:55 PM

Please respond to "Dave Stewart" <stewed11 -at- hotmail -dot- com>

Sent by:  bounce-techwr-l-40429 -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com


To:   "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
cc:

Subject:  Error Message Appendix

Hi,

For the software I currently document, the engineers have written a large
number of error messages that appear when a user performs a task
incorrectly.

For instance, an error message will pop up on the screen when a user
neglects to import a required file or types a number that is outside the
minimum and maxiumum allowed values for a certain parameter.

We've received feedback from customers that the error messages are not
descriptive enough, and we're working on making the messages more
comprehensible so users know exactly what went wrong and how to fix the
problem.

I'm wondering if anyone has ever included an appendix in their
documentation
listing each error message in the source code, along with more extensive
descriptions of the solutions to each problem?

Thanks,

Dave...



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