RE: Documenting the user interface

["Dubin, David" <David -dot- Dubin -at- sage -dot- com>]

As Melissa Nelson and others have pointed out, "this is a 'know your
audience' type thing." However I would carry that one step further -it
is also a "know your purpose" type thing. 

Technical documentation does not have to be a dry presentation of what
every field, function, or menu item does unless that is the purpose of
that documentation. Just as one writes for different audiences, one
should also write for different purposes. Is the document meant to be
informative or instructional? (Yes, there is a difference.) If it is
instructional, how can one document a function or feature without tying
it back to the specific process for which that feature, function or
button was designed? If that is the case, why would you document
buttons, icons, etc. that have nothing to do with that individual
process? You wouldn't. Therefore, I would suggest that both audience and
purpose be the guide, not just audience alone.


David B. Dubin
Senior Curriculum Developer 
Sage Software 
727-579-1111 x 3356
david -dot- dubin -at- sage -dot- com
Your business in mind.

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