Re: How can technical documentation add value?

["Steve Arrants" <steve -at- compbear -dot- com>]

Peter Neilson wrote,
> >The best value you can add is to be involved early in the design of
> >the product as a spokesman for the future customer. ...
> >Perhaps there is some magic strategy that'll make
> >every PHB see that a TW in the design stage is a Good Thing. If
> >anyone has this figured out, let us know!

Dunno if this is directly relevant, but the company I recently worked for
had a user conference in Las Vegas in November.  The company makes practice
management software for health centers. Until that conference there was no
documentation--no print, no online, no cheat sheets--just notes and such
from "training" sessions.  I got a good though rough draft of the online
help and print docs ready for the conference, all spiffed up on a CD handed
out to attendees.  The feedback from the conference all mentioned how
wonderful it was to have documentation that actually worked with the
product.

So....sometimes the value we add is nothing more than telling the user how
things work and how to get a job done.  Not as whizzy as helping design the
product, but useful nonetheless.



steve arrants, gone from California and now in Vermont