Re: This too is technical communication

["Kevin Amery" <kevindamery -at- gmail -dot- com>]

On 6/5/07, Al Geist <al -dot- geist -at- geistassociates -dot- com> wrote:
>We can only go on creating the best documentation
> possible under adverse conditions and not spend time worrying about Company
> Z's abysmal pubs. Hopefully, the users will ultimately decide who will be
> cut from the profession by not buying products with garbage for supporting
> documentation, but don't waste time waiting for that to happen. As long as
> companies place documentation at the end of the development process, right
> after ordering pizza for the launch party, and as long as those companies
> use the cheapest writers they can find, you will have manuals written by
> idiots for idiots.
>

Also, not to put too fine a point on it, how many customers feel that
the quality of the documentation is the primary determinant of which
product to buy? Do we expect people to buy a car with less leg room,
worse fuel economy, and crappy styling just because the owner's manual
is a gem? Do we expect people to go down to Best Buy and ask the floor
staff to open the packaging for all the MP3 players to see which has
the best documentation? I sure don't.

Even on professional equipment where documentation is important, I
doubt that the quality of the documentation is the deciding factor
unless everything else is more or less even. Is an airline going to
choose Boeing or Airbus solely on the quality of the docs? Probably
not. (Given what we've read here in the past weeks, I'm sure it's a
factor, but I'm also sure it's not nearly as important as performance,
fuel economy, passenger capacity... oh, and price....)

-- 
Until next time...

Kevin Amery
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or 
printed documentation. Features include support for Windows Vista & 2007 
Microsoft Office, team authoring, plus more.
http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList

True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
documentation. Boost your productivity! http://www.helpandmanual.com

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to 
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40web.techwr-l.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.