Re: Elegance

Subject: Re: Elegance
From: Ronni Geist <ronni -at- GEISTWRITERS -dot- COM>
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 15:50:42 -0400

Wayne Douglass wrote:

> You can't write a manual that's better than the product.
>
> --Wayne

=====

Sorry, Wayne, but I beg to differ...

I've documented some pretty awful (consumer) hardware and software -- in
environments where the developers constantly stressed:
"Those are NOT bugs, they're features!"
--and--
"Works as designed!!!"


Yet a good documentation team:
* can make a difficult product easy to install and use

* can recommend troubleshooting fixes for when the hardware/
software doesn't do things as you'd expect it should

* can present it in a clear, concise, user-friendly manner
(with screen shots, bullet/number lists, and a comprehensive
TOC and Index) so that end-users don't realize that the product
is nearly as bad as it really is.


I was the manager of a doc department. As they say,
"Been there...done that!"

Ronni


Ms. Ronni Geist
Director, Editorial Services
GeistWriters
914.353.EDIT
ronni -at- geistwriters -dot- com




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