Re: DFDs Are Great! Was Re: DFD BFD

[David Neeley <dbneeley -at- gmail -dot- com>]

Tony,

Let us suppose your assignment is to do an API reference document. 

This would have, usually, almost nothing of what you have written as
"the major thing" as a factor in its construction.

Any other developer- or administrator-level document would only
tangentially be involved in end-user considerations, in fact.

Regarding end-user docs, there are often several different ones. One
might be an interface guide--again, having little to do with a
"comprehensive understanding of user tasks."

Next, in the hardware area, there are *many* tech writers who write
things like engineering documents for microcircuits--and, again, the
"end user tasks" are largely irrelevant here. That is a requirement
for the design engineers for the circuit, of course--but the
documentation is "just the facts, ma'am" regarding the technical
aspects of the circuit. How that circuit will be used is often quite
beyond the scope of the technical documentation from the point of view
of the tech writer. (Often, but not always, of course.)

Let us, however, examine what the "end user requirements" are for this
list: reasonable opinions based upon fact and experience regarding a
very broad field. Limited experience within that field and insistence
upon that experience being universally applicable hardly seems useful,
IMHO.

No matter how often you may repeat your statement, you should
understand that it becomes no more true with the repetition. It is
simply not comprehensive enough to cover the many different tasks that
members of this list must accomplish.

David



 
> > As I have posted several times: The major thing that a
> > TW is to do is come up with a detailed, comprehensive
> > understanding of the essential end-user tasks, and how
> > all those tasks interrelate - with special emphasis
> > placed on understanding the interrelationships.

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