in response to all the messages about RT*M

[Jeanette Sainten <jeanettes -at- MDLI -dot- COM>]

I'm always unimpressed when I see or hear the phrase
"RTFM". I know that there are plenty of
times you need to laugh or kvetch to release stress, but
this particular "joke" sounds to me like someone
who is familiar with the document has forgotten that
they have customers to satisfy. (Either that or there
is an intended irony that I fail to infer.)

Can you always assume that
the user hasn't tried to find the information?
Can you possibly believe that if the user could not
locate the information, that it is his fault?

Whenever someone asks a question that the
documentation intended to answer, it's a blessing!
You have a prime opportunity to gain valuable information.

From my work in technical support and my current work
with usability tests and technical writing I have learned
to ask the unsuccessful information-gatherer questions
such as these:

- What information do you need? Tell me
what you were doing when you needed the information.
(to get the information in his own words)

- Where it did occur to you to look for it? Did you know that
(the available) resources exist?

- If you know that there is an appropriate document, did
you look there?

- If you didn't look there, why was it more helpful to you
to ask me instead of reading the document?
(Perhaps the product has a reputation for being poorly
documented, so they made a phone call to save time)

- What they were hoping to find when they looked for it and how
did it compare to what they found?

- If our company needs to broadcast that the docs or products
re now more usable than they were when the negative rumours spread,
which publication or mailing do you read so they could
see the news? (Do you actually receive the newsletter that our
company sends to you?)

- If one person can find what they want and another can't,
then what is the difference in perspective? What is the
successful searcher thinking that the unsuccessful searcher
isn't? Perhaps your document is dismissing a significant
portion of your audience and would be much improved if
you took the care to figure out how to change the doc
or the product to be more useable.

Sometimes the solution could be as simple as an additional
entry to the index.

(IMHO)* we're supposed to make a user's life easier -- not laugh
or scream at them they have a hard time.

Jeanette

jeanettes -at- mdli -dot- com



*(IMHO) = In my humble opinion

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