SUMMARY: Addendum Alert

[Debbie Figus <debbief -at- NETVISION -dot- NET -dot- IL>]

Thanks to everyone who responded, both on- and off-list, to my request for
help in dealing with loose addendum pages. (I?ve pasted my original post
below.) The majority of responses I received said they put their addendum
pages in the very front of the manual, printed on colored paper. (Colors
used range from light orange to goldenrod to green to blue to orchid to
pink - we?re a colorful group!) This is the solution I chose, and you
wouldn?t believe the weight my opinion carried in my company by quoting the
responses I got from this list!

I designed a template for addenda, with its own numbering system (i.e.,
page 1 of 2, etc.) The colored addendum page(s) will be placed directly
after the title page of the manual. We decided here that the colored paper
serves as enough of an alert for the new pages, so we dropped the sticker
idea.

In addition, several people said they use a loose-leaf format for their
manuals, which I think makes for elegant adding of extra pages, like addenda.

I?ll go ahead and list some of the other misc. ideas gleaned from my
responses:
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        If the object of the whatever (label or stamp)) on the front is to really
truly notify the user to *look* at something, your engineer may be right.
This might actually be time to talk to somebody in Marketing, to see what
gets people's attention. I'd think a glossy, four-color, all-purpose
"Special notice--see page X" might actually be an eye-grabber.
        If you get a label printed (all those product lines!) maybe you could
leave room on the sticker for the page or reference location.
        Personal preference IMHO should take second place to what works...
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In the past I have used a History Revision Page that lists in a table
format the pages/sections that are revised, the date the pages were
updated, who revised the pages, and where the electronic copy of the
revisions are located (drive and file name).  I put this as the very first
(un-numbered) page of the manual.
===================================
today, we kick out a "record of addendums" that goes in the front of the
manual with the addendums
===================================
index lists any outstanding addendums for a given manual (soon to be on the
network, currently you can only get a downloaded program with data. the new
program will let you look stuff up w/o having to do that (we had written
the program a long time ago and we're just now able to do something a bit
nicer than providing a downable huge file...)
===================================
I would agree with you that if you just put the addendum loose in the box
it will get lost.  As an example, I've had that happen to me with some
software that I purchased. After glancing at a single sheet that I thought
was a re-order form, I discovered the information that I was desperately
searching for to correct a major problem with the program.
===================================
We do something similar with our loose-leaf manuals. We don't do a "record
of addendums" because we never allow a manual to have more than one. But we
do the addendums on a different color paper (usually blue) and either pack
them on top of the manual or insert them inside the front cover.
===================================
In a former job, we also had to do "quick and dirty" addenda. We printed
the addenda on colored pages with appropriate dates and addenda numbers...a
different color for each addendum, as they were needed, until we could
update the whole text and assimilate the info into it. We included a
synopsis slipsheet with each addendum (also on the same color as the
addendum) to alert our customers to what new info was included in the
addendum. We put the addenda in the front of the manual so they wouldn't
miss it.
===================================
By always treating addenda in a standard and consistent way, (we assume
that) the reader will quickly find the new/changed information.
===================================
I always made a new title page. The manual would say in very large letters
"Version 3.0 Manual with Addendum for (blah)" That way there was no
confusion. The covers weren't real fancy, just black on glossy white, so it
wasn't a big deal. In any case, unless covers are horrendously expensive, I
think that would be the way to go.
===================================
My original post:
Hello,
I?m looking for a solution for a specific aspect of including an addendum
in a manual, and maybe you all can help me. I?ve spent some time in the
archives, and I see the general attitude toward addendums. The sense I got
was that if you need to add information, then update the whole manual,
thereby having no need for an addendum at all.
Well, I simply don?t have time to update each and every manual whenever an
engineer wants to add a page or two of new information. (This company has
an extensive product line, with over 100 manuals.) If you?re willing to
bear with me, and accept that the addendum is the best solution for now,
then my question is a bit more specific:
Even if the addendum pages are bound in with the rest of the manual, let?s
say at the end, how do you alert your users that those pages are there,
since the cover of the manual looks the same as it ever did? This engineer
says to put a sticker on the front of the manual, like a ?warning.? I don?t
like stickers, so I suggested a stamp, in red ink, with the words ?Custom
Product Addendum Included in This Manual? or something like this.
I?m interested in any feedback on the best way to alert users that the
pages are there, and wording for whatever type of ?alert? I end up using.
===================================

Thanks again,

Debbie Figus
Excalibur Systems
Jerusalem, Israel

debbief -at- netvision -dot- net -dot- il