Re: Don Norman on Manual Writing

["A" <aurora -at- identicloak -dot- com>]

It seems to me that specialization is the enemy here. With so many
camps fighting to divide up the product, and then justify the
existence of their department, the whole goal of creating a usable
product is lost. This trend is accelerated when the company is
far-removed from the customer, hidden behind layers of sales and
remarketers and third-parties.

The goal alluded to originally in the article does seem a bit far off,
but it will be embraced by companies who want to survive the
onslsaught of inexpensive products from China and India. Why? It
breeds quality, and quality sells. (Look at the iPod.)

A.u.r.o.r.a
www.adventuresindefecation.com

Beth Agnew said:
> My experience has been that design IS a discovery process. Unwanted
> discoveries, sometimes, but always discovery as the design moves from
> imagination to concrete form. BAs and RAs/SAs HAD to be involved in
> the
> design to adjust that design as necessary to meet the requirements.
> Design is the process of implementing the specifications that come out
> of requirements analysis. Each phase is a discovery and learning
> process, especially if you're working on something new. Techwriters,
> as
> specialists in communication, also need to be involved in both phases
> so
> that the thoughts, ideas, plans, and visions can be brought out of
> people's heads into a more universally understood form.
>
> Tony Markos wrote:
>
>>Analysis is a discovery process; design is not.
>>
>>Business Analysts and Requirements Analysts are a
>>couple of examples of people who do analysis - but not
>>design. In the organizations that I have worked in,
>>BAs and RAs were not part of the design group.
>>
>>Much more important than missed/dropped details in
>>transfer from analyis to design is the problem of
>>short-circuited analysis, which inevitably happens
>>when (true) analysts are under the same management as
>>the design folks.
>>
>>Tony Markos
>>
>>
> --
> Beth Agnew
> Professor, Technical Communication
> Seneca College of Applied Arts & Technology
> Toronto, ON 416.491.5050 x3133
> http://www.tinyurl.com/83u5u
>
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