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Subject:Re: an indexing question From:Dave Swenson <Dave_Swenson -at- TRENDMICRO -dot- COM> Date:Mon, 15 Jun 1998 10:31:42 -0700
You mention running the Index through a usability test -- roughly how do you
structure something like this? Like a treasure hunt, i.e., give some people
a list of things to find in the document? Who creates the list? It sound
very interesting and I would like to try it myself.
David Swenson
Technical Writer
Trend Micro, Inc.
Tel: (408) 863-6342
Email: david_swenson -at- trendmicro -dot- com
Check your hard drive for viruses: http://housecall.antivirus.com
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Huber, Mike [SMTP:mrhuber -at- SOFTWARE -dot- ROCKWELL -dot- COM]
> Sent: Monday, June 15, 1998 6:47 AM
> To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
> Subject: Re: an indexing question
>
> Well, I tend index both the way you describe, and as
>
> Eggbeaters
> Color
> ...
> Forks
> Color
>
> The nice thing about an index is that you can provide multiple paths to
> the
> same information.
>
> I've found that running an index through a usability lab is extremely
> valuable. Watching somebody use your index can be a strange experience.
>
> I would probably have a section about color, and I don't think it would
> just
> be an index target. It seems to me that anything that is a natural index
> target (like "Color" here) is probably something the reader wants to know
> about. If the reader is going to look up color, write about color. At the
> very least, you should probably mention that the color information is all
> the same, or that it divides into metal and plastic colors, or ...
>
> Some writers use the index to start the design process for a document. It
> sounded weird the first time I heard of it, but when you watch people try
> to
> use your documents, you realize the index is the most important section.
> If
> the reader doesn't find the information in the index, it might as well not
> be in the book.
>
> ---
> Office:
> mike -dot- huber -at- software -dot- rockwell -dot- com
> Home:
> nax -at- execpc -dot- com
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Mark L. Levinson [SMTP:mark -at- memco -dot- co -dot- il]
> >
> ...
> > Should I list it this way?--
> >
> > Color
> > of eggbeaters 7
> > of forks 12
> > of toasters 18
> > of woks 22
> > etc. etc.
> >
> > That takes a lot of space and may falsely imply that the
> > information is substantially different from occurrence to
> > occurrence.
> >
> > Should I list it just once? The first occurrence, perhaps?
> >
> > Color 7
> >
> > That could imply that the characteristic doesn't exist in
> > other places.
> >
> > Should I burden the book with a section describing common
> > characteristics, merely to serve as an index target?
>
> ~
>
