RE: Best Documentation

Subject: RE: Best Documentation
From: "Anthony Markatos" <tonymar -at- hotmail -dot- com>
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Date: Thu, 03 Feb 2000 08:50:17 PST

Tony Markatos responds (to Brent Jones below):

Text is a very poor means of communicating procedural informal. Text is one dimensional; procedures (especially those associated with complex software systems) are multidimensional - different things happening at the same time and multi-branching. Graphics are much better because they allow one to clearly communicate the multidimensional aspect of procedure. And as you have found, properly "chucked" graphics are even better.

All of the above is a major reason (there are others) why writting skills are of RELATIVELY minor importance in technical communications.

Brent Jones writes:

I think the best examples of technical documentation I have ever seen are the instructions that come w/ modern-day Lego kits. They are entirely pictorial, the "chunking" of pieces-per-pictograph is brilliant, the sequencing (build this 'subsystem,' then that one, then join them together)is topnotch. They are localised for any market, as they use no text(except arabic numerals to show the sequence of ops--that might be a problem in some markets).

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