RE: What audience should I target?

["Joe Malin" <jmalin -at- tuvox -dot- com>]

Dear Yevgeny,

This sounds like you're a contractor for the company, writing
documentation for them.

You may have to make assumptions about the audience, based on your own
small knowledge of the product. Since I have a technical and scientific
background, I don't find that hard to do, but you might. If you tell me
the company and the product, I might actually be able to help you.

Otherwise, you can guess at all the possible audiences that might read
the documentation. From that, you can make a documentation plan, send it
to your customer *and get them to sign off on it*. That may make them
actually *think* about the problem. I've found that when I put my
assumptions down on "paper" and coerce people (nicely) into reading the
paper, I get much more information. I guess people who are not motivated
to tell me anything are much more motivated to criticize *my* ideas! OK,
as long as I get the info I want.

I've worn a lot of hats in hardware and software, so I can usually guess
at the audiences, so here are some rules-of-thumb:
* Consumer hardware and software: the *buyer* may be technically savvy,
but the *user* may be a real newbie. For instance, I buy an anti-virus
program for my mom. I know what she needs, but she may not know anything
about computers. So, put down all the specs where I can find them, but
make the procedures simple.
* technical hardware and software, such as scientific instruments,
oscilloscopes, etc: These are usually spec'ed by the people who use
them. No need to write "down", since nobody but the experts will look at
the docs. Be exhaustive and provide plenty of reference info.
* IT hardware and software, such as routers, switchers, networking
monitors, etc.: Spec'ed by the experts but sometimes purchased by
non-experts. Be thorough with the specs and system requirements, since
customers need to match your stuff to other stuff
* Enterprise hardware and software, such as databases, ERP, etc.: Same
as IT, except that senior management may have to sign off as well. Make
sure some doc or marketing stuff is addressed to them.

In general, somebody who's not an expert is bound to look at the docs to
find out if this product is better (or worse) than someone else's. This
person is not an expert and doesn't need tons of information. If you do
good tech writing, he or she will be more than satisfied. Also, hidden
audiences always exist. 

Joe

-----Original Message-----
From: bounce-techwr-l-216553 -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:bounce-techwr-l-216553 -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of
Borodkin, Yevgen
Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 6:03 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: What audience should I target?


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