Re: Sam Clemens is dead

[Gwen Gall <ggall -at- CA -dot- ORACLE -dot- COM>]

In-Reply-To: CNSEQ1:TECHWR-L -at- VM1 -dot- ucc -dot- okstate -dot- edu's message of 10-03-94 12:52

RoMay Sitze said:

  As far as I am
concerned, it make no difference whether the documentation is online or
printed, if it is too long, it becomes self-defeating.  I vote for
emphasizing the important things, and keeping the rest as simple as
possible.
******************

I think this calls for a discussion on "minimalism" in both hardcopy and
online documentation. Does anyone have experiences in attempts at minimalist
documentation they wish to share?

I am especially interested in how effective this theory proves to be: that if
you provide just enough information to get users to strike out on their own
and "discover" how to use it, they will learn more effectively. My questions
are:

1. Do they? or do they just figure out the basics, never learn the complex,
or learn how to do a complex thing in a round-about, time-wasting way and do it
_that_ way ever after, never having been told there is a built-in function, or
set of functions, for doing something?

2. Do users "resent" being forced to work harder at something--especially
when they are trying to use the software (or whatever, really) to get a job
done, quickly? Or do they (as I have read) feel "empowered", having "interacted
in a meaningful, challenging, fun way" with the computer...

3. How can minimalist documentation (online or hardcopy) deal with poorly
designed, non-intuitively functioning software? Can it?

You may tell from my questions that I am sceptical (somewhat), but would be
interested in real world tales.

Cheers,

Gwen (ggall -at- ca -dot- oracle -dot- com)

        "The question is not the size of your intelligence,
        but how you use the little amount of it you might have."

                                --Sir John Gielgud