RE: Legislation covering User Manuals

Subject: RE: Legislation covering User Manuals
From: Beena V Katekar <Beena -dot- Katekar -at- kshema -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2002 12:04:05 +0530


Oh that is good resolution i feel.
Becoz i remember, when i bought a washing machine(semi automatic). I have
to
break my head for 2 days to understand the operation reading manual, but
all
in vain.
i need to call up the company engineer to show the demo, and i did complain
him about the manual.
it was really bad manual and i really felt i send back the machine(whats
the
point if, i can't use it!).
and good lesson for me to write a right user manual, I did learn from
it....!!!
Beena

-----Original Message-----
From: geoff -at- userdox -dot- com [mailto:geoff -at- userdox -dot- com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 11:23 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: Legislation covering User Manuals




This could make for an interesting future in the techwriting industry...

Anyone care to comment on the implications?

Geoff


>From another list(techwriter -at- yahoogroups -dot- com):

> You mention you call a text a "User Manual and which fulfills all
> legal requirements to be called this". I have not heard of legal
> definitions. Can you point us to where these are described? Even if

Here in Germany we have a "new" law since the start of the year. It says
that the customer _always_ (and that means ALWAYS) can give back the machine
if
-he does not understand the manual (this is a very wide definition - and it
gives us some headaches)
-the manual is misleading
-the descriptions are not clear enough
and so on.
To be able to call a manual "User Manual" it has to contain some important
parts:
-safety instructions
-the customer has to be able to use the machine in a proper way
-the basic functions have to be described
-it has to contain the machine specification
-consumables have to be described
-all parts (specially the options) of the machine have to be described
as well as smaller things like
-the cover page of the manual has to contain certain information
-...





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