TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Coming out of lurkdom to take exception to what Anthony Markatos said:
Or you may type
up what people want you to know - which is always alot about HOW the
software works and very lean on WHAT the software does. (Note: End
users want to know WHAT the software does, not HOW it works.)
Personally, speaking as an end user, I don't give a flying leap WHAT the
software does when it does it's magic, only that the software WORKS. Even
though I know that, as a technical writer, there are a lot of issues with
WHAT a program does and, in SOME cases, it might benefit me to know that
info, I usually only care about getting the results that I want with the
least amount of fuss. IF that should involve knowing WHAT the software does
versus HOW the software does, THEN I would want to know that. But only then.
Otherwise, forget telling me about WHAT the software does to get the job
done and tell me WHAT to do to get the software to do that job. Of course, I
think this all comes back to knowing your users and what their needs are.
Back to lurking....
Sam Beard
Technical Writer
GSC, GTE (soon to be Bell Atlantic-GTE, soon to be something else
entirely!!)
