Re: Doc Design and Convention ( was TECHWR-L Digest, Vol 48, Issue 27)

Subject: Re: Doc Design and Convention ( was TECHWR-L Digest, Vol 48, Issue 27)
From: Robert Lauriston <robert -at- lauriston -dot- com>
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 11:01:19 -0800

I didn't say anything of the sort. Marketing hype doesn't belong in
technical documentation. I never use any marketing language except
sometimes in the first few paragraphs of a user's guide and release
notes, and even there I tone it down and cut anything that's not
supported by the facts.

Documentation that reflects the specific business requirements of
prospective customers and a contextual understanding of how, by whom,
and for what purposes the product is used is a helpful tool for anyone
evaluating the product, especially when installation is a long and
complex process (as is usually the case for client-server and
Web-based applications, especially those that require a third-party
database such as Oracle or SQL Server). It helps the prospective buyer
understand whether the product would meet their needs.

I know that's true from the buyer's side as well. If it's too much
trouble to install a product and I can't tell from the docs whether it
will do the specific things I need it do, I'll move on to the next
candidate.

On Wed, Nov 4, 2009 at 10:48 AM, Gene Kim-Eng <techwr -at- genek -dot- com> wrote:
> If a company provides me with a document set as part of its presale
> presentation, one of the things i look for is an indication that they know where
> to put different kinds of information.  User manuals that read like advertising
> brochures for a company's other products - or worse, like advertising brochures
> for the very product the reader has (presumably) already purchased - do not tend
> to make me want to buy a company's products.  They just irritate me.
>
> Gene Kim-Eng
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Robert Lauriston" <robert -at- lauriston -dot- com>
>> By focusing narrowly on technical concerns you're excluding the
>> specific business contexts in which the tool will be used and thus
>> perhaps industry-specific warnings and tips that could be helpful to
>> users.
>>
>> Whether that matters probably depends on how varied the product's uses
>> are in practice.
>>
>> Also, a good technical writer should think like a marketer to the
>> extent that the docs may be used as presales tools.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Are you looking for one documentation tool that does it all? Author,
build, test, and publish your Help files with just one easy-to-use tool.
Try the latest Doc-To-Help 2009 v3 risk-free for 30-days at:
http://www.doctohelp.com/

Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! 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.

Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat


Follow-Ups:

References:
Re: Doc Design and Convention ( was TECHWR-L Digest, Vol 48, Issue 27): From: Janice Gelb
Re: Doc Design and Convention ( was TECHWR-L Digest, Vol 48, Issue 27): From: Keith Hood
Re: Doc Design and Convention ( was TECHWR-L Digest, Vol 48, Issue 27): From: Robert Lauriston
Re: Doc Design and Convention ( was TECHWR-L Digest, Vol 48, Issue 27): From: Gene Kim-Eng

Previous by Author: Re: Doc Design and Convention ( was TECHWR-L Digest, Vol 48, Issue 27)
Next by Author: Re: screencasts tool preference
Previous by Thread: Re: Doc Design and Convention ( was TECHWR-L Digest, Vol 48, Issue 27)
Next by Thread: Re: Doc Design and Convention ( was TECHWR-L Digest, Vol 48, Issue 27)


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads