How do you define your audience/"user requirements" in your docs, to the reader?

[Leonard C. Porrello]

Yes, yours have been my working assumptions and approach. However, our lead developer put the question to me today, and it got me thinking. Perhaps it could be helpful to the user to understand whether or not the documentation is targeted at him (granted the user reads the intro sections). For example, "To understand this guide and successfully use the application, the users should be versed in using Windows XP." That appears to be better than the original statement (below), but it is still problematic. Even apart from the issue of meta-cognitive competence, "Versed" means different things to different people. Same with "beginner," "intermediate," and "advanced." So, does the statement really add anything? On the other hand, you can't say, "Despair of using this product all ye who have an IQ of less than 100 on the WAIS-III scale."
  
Leonard C. Porrello
SoleraTec LLC
www.soleratec.com
 
________________________________________
From: John Posada [mailto:jposada99 at gmail.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, April 02, 2008 10:51 AM
To: Leonard C. Porrello
Cc: techwr-l at lists.techwr-l.com
Subject: Re: How do you define your audience/"user requirements" in your docs, to the reader?

>> nor do I have a clear idea of how to define my target user--to the reader.
 
You don't have to define your target reader to your user. If they picked up the manual and are getting use from it, they ARE the target. What you need to do is to not miss ones you should, and not waste time writing for someone who couldn't care. By having an accurate understanding of who will be pickikng it up, it will be written for them when they do.
 
I like to do this by defining personas, then write to the ones that apply.
 
John Posada
Senior Technical Writer
NYMetro STC President and Program Chair
- Said the Zen master to the hot dog vendor "Make me one with everything." 
 
On 4/2/08, Leonard C. Porrello <Leonard.Porrello at soleratec.com> wrote: 
All,

I was wondering how to deal with the challenge of defining my target audience explicitly--in my docs, to the reader. I have hardware and software requirements, but I do not have "user requirements," nor do I have a clear idea of how to define my target user--to the reader. I have the standard, "This user's guide is intended for users and system administrators," and while "system administrators" is useful, "users" isn't saying much.

Thoughts?