Re: An Engineer Has Infected My Young Mind!

Subject: Re: An Engineer Has Infected My Young Mind!
From: Glen Warner <gdwarner -at- ricochet -dot- net>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Fri, 19 May 2000 03:02:52 -0700


(*snip*)
>
> - Write instructions for one function both your way and the
engineer's way.
> Give these samples to your software testers or possible beta
> customers, and tell them you need their assessment.
>
> This is "testing the documentation." Get their comments in writing
or email.
> Then, if the engineer complains about your work to your boss or in
> public, you can show your boss that you
> did consider the engineer's approach, but you still think yours is
better
> for the customer.
> And you'll have evidence of why.

My instructor in my "Writing and Designing Online Help" class related
a rather amusing story of a similar situation.

Apparently, one of the Marketeers got the idea to change the name of a
common function in this program they were updating to something with
more "oomph" -- or whatever the marketeers call it these days. This
particular procedure was something ubiquitous, like 'Select All'
originally ... but this guy wanted to change this to something weird,
like (not the real marketeer-ese) 'Do.'

The tech writers and UI-ninjas argued and argued, to no avail ... so
the change was made.

Someone was thinking, however, and had the new version of the software
tested by a random group of users. The offending marketeer was in
attendance, behind the proverbial one-way mirror.

My instructor reports that she had never seen a test group get so
*angry*
before --! One guy, on being told of the change, said loudly "What
*^#&*!!! idiot came up with this crap?!!?"

The marketeer then saw the error of his ways, and the changed
procedure name was returned to normal.

:o)

So ... user reviews of your manual, as Lili suggested, should do the
trick. Do you think you could have your engineer in attendance ....?

--gdw

(*snip*)

> Lili






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