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> other sources. My boss said that he wants the user
> guides to be the best in the world, which, knowing him
> is not all that rhetorical.
Keith, In all seriousness, you have my condolences. Why? You are chasing a picture in his head and you'll never live up to it. Anything you do, he's going to compare it against that picture and you can't. Every document feature you implement he's going to compare it against something he might have seen that caught his attention, but doesn't know how difficult it was to implement..
Instead of asking us for examples, ask HIM for examples, though chances are he'll never give you any because he's never found a perfect document. You have another problem in that you have to follow what I imagine is a very regulated industry and many times, what is "best" conflicts with what they require.
Another question...he wants unlimited quality, breath, and scope. Has he given you unlimited budget and access to unlimited human resources?
> He also said he wants the
> user docs to explain to the user everything that can
> possibly be explained about the software. It should
For who? Have you defined the perfect user persona? Have you defined on paper exactly what that user does? Reason I'm asking is that a document for a user is different than a document for an administrator-type person.
Hate to say this, but this is the best definition for failure that I've ever seen. I know this wasn't what you were lookikng for or that it doesn't even answer the question...I just had such a strong reaction to his request that I wanted to pass it along.
John Posada
Senior Technical Writer
"They say everyone needs goals. Mine is to live forever.
So far, so good."
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