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Subject:Re: Usability Testing From:Eric Ray <ejr -at- RAYCOMM -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 21 May 1999 12:40:41 -0600
At 11:30 AM 5/21/99 -0700, Leona Dupree wrote:
>I never hand over my documentation without testing it against the
>product. I don't mind testing what I have written because I want to
>make sure it works according to what the software does. Why would any
>Technical Writer have a problem with this being a part of the writing
>process, if there are no QA personnel on board?
I suspect the difference is in testing and using the software
and filing bugs as you go (a normal tech writer task) versus
applying a test script (a normal QA task and one that generally
does little to help the tech writer and, as someone noted,
often conflicts with tech writing schedules). Applying test
scripts (particularly if the script is thorough) is positively
mind-numbing and not particularly educational. IMHO.
Eric
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Eric J. Ray RayComm, Inc. http://www.raycomm.com/ ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com
*Award-winning author of several popular computer books
*Syndicated columnist: Rays on Computing
*Technology Department Editor, _Technical Communication_
