Simply

[Damien Braniff]

We want to help users with our docs and to do this we need to:

1.	Make the documents look professional - if it looks 'good' it's
more likely to be read, or at least looked at. Bit like wearing a suit
to an interview - first impressions DO count!

2.	Next (once you've got them looking!), give them what they need -
the information has to be there and correct.

3.	Finally, make it easy for them to FIND what they want - good
structure, toc, index etc.

Bit simplistic perhaps but I think that's it in a nutshell, based on
research I did for my MA some years ago. In a survey I did people said
that the 'look' of a manual tinted how they viewed the doc before they
even opened it. They also said that a 'good' doc had a positive effect
on how they viewed the product as a whole PLUS their view of the company
producing it and, by extension, other products by the company.

So I'd agree with Gene - the docs can definitely be a (albeit
unintentional at times) marketing tool. A couple of respondents said
that they bought further products from the same company based (at least
in part) on the docs. Ditto, some went elsewhere due to the poor quality
of the docs.

Damien Braniff
Sr. Technical Writer
damienb at asg.com

Waterfront Plaza
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Tel: +44 (0) 28.9072.3124
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