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Subject:Re: An Engineer has infected my young mind! From:"Barb Einarsen" <barb -dot- einarsen -at- gnnettest -dot- com> To:"Sierra Godfrey" <kittenbreath -at- hotbot -dot- com>, "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 18 May 2000 16:23:35 -0400
Hi Sierra,
Try a compromise. Offer the engineer's Reference Guide and a shorter,
task-oriented User Guide. The Reference Guide should be setup so that
Conceptual Information appears in 1 section and Technical Reference appears
in another. The User Guide should offer procedures and Screen/Field level
reference.
This way: users who wish to conceptually understand the technology can focus
on the Conceptual/Technical reference information (learning/long term
memory); users who need to understand a particular user interface item at
runtime can find their information quickly (quick reference/short term
memory) and users who need direction on completing tasks can focus on the
procedural information (useful for learners and quick reference users).
The online help should reflect the Procedural info and Screen/Field Level
reference. The Conceptual/Technical Reference information should appear in a
PDF.
Let me know if this helps,
Barb Einarsen
Technical Writer
GN Nettest -- NOD
