Re: This too is technical communication

[Chris Borokowski <athloi -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

I think you're conflating two things here that aren't
equal. The first is whether technical documentation
will make someone buy a product; the second is whether
it adds value.

The answer in my experience is that no one will pay
more for a product for good documentation, or buy it
because the documentation is good, because the
documentation isn't the product (exception: books!).
However, the documentation is part of the product
experience, and user satisfaction with this experience
determines whether they buy again, or buy additional
products from the company.

Let me put it in a metaphor. If a neighborhood decides
to have a security patrol, ban leaf-blowers, and clean
its streets regularly, that will not add to the value
of the properties, since those are determined by
location and the house on them. However, while people
won't pay more for the houses, they will line up in
greater numbers to get them and give the sellers a
greater range of choices.

That's what we're fighting for here.
--- Kevin Amery <kevindamery -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:

> It was pointed out earlier that companies who don't
> make a point of
> doing better with their documentation now won't
> change until it starts
> affecting their revenues. If documentation isn't
> something that
> customers use to determine which product to buy,
> then these companies
> aren't going to see any reason to change--therefore,
> they'll continue
> to hire TWs based on their rates or other criteria
> rather than the
> quality of docs they produce.


User Interface design blog
http://user-advocacy.blogspot.com/
Code::Design::UI::Consulting
http://www.dionysius.com/


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