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Nancy McDonald asked for advice on writing a
troubleshooting guide. Nancy, the key word here is
"trouble": if you can identify what aspects of the software
will cause trouble for your audience, then you can document
solutions to each such problem. How do you find this out?
Well, start with the problems you and your team personally
encountered while writing the docs. Supplement this with a
list of any known bugs. Add in any information that your
technical support staff or training staff can provide on
common problems that users encounter. This should cover
almost all of what you need to include. Conclude the
chapter with an overview of problem-solving strategies; for
example, if the software's "metaphor" suggests a particular
approach, explain this approach so that users can see how
their problem fits within the approach and attack the
problem with that knowledge.
--Geoff Hart @8^{)} geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
Disclaimer: Speaking for myself, not FERIC.
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