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Subject:Re: Need Troubleshooting advice From:Dave Meek <meekd -at- WSERVER -dot- DO -dot- LOSRIOS -dot- CC -dot- CA -dot- US> Date:Fri, 23 May 1997 12:32:18 -0700
At 12:43 PM 5/23/97 -0500, Stephen P. Victor wrote:
>Working with support people (very important) and developers, a technical
>writer can produce guides that address real problems experienced by real
>users. You're correct that there could be an infinite variety of
>software/hardware configurations, but don't most software developers
>have a limited set of *supported* configurations? Working within the
>limits of supported configurations, it's possible to write
>troubleshooting guides that are both complete and useful.
>
In my experience, working with support people is *the* most important
consideration of my job. All day long, support people depend on the
documentation I create, and they walk customers through those same pages as
well. Documentation that works for support people tends to work for
customers too. And customers, after hearing support people tell them, "The
information you need is on page such-and-such," gain confidence in the
document and begin to utilize it more.
A good working relationship with your support staff is a highly valuable
resource for improving your technical writing and for supporting decisions
you make regarding the structure and presentation of your documents.
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