Re: Benchmarking Technical Documentation

[Andrew Plato <intrepid_es -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

<ccallen -at- beckman -dot- com> wrote ...

> > 1. What is it?
> > 2. What does it do?
> > 3. What is its purpose?
> > 4. How does it work (or how does it do what it is supposed to do)?
> > 5. Why is it relevant?
>
> The first three (and maybe the fifth) are relevant, but can easily be
> covered in a few paragraphs in the intro or description section. How it
> works is seldom of interest to the user (do I care how my telephone or 
> VCR works? no). But the most important question isn't even mentioned--
> HOW DO I USE IT? That's what user's really, really need to know.

If you can answer #4, then explaining how to use it will be a piece of
cake. That is the point of the questions. They force you to examine the
topic and understand its purpose. 

While it is possible the user does need all the "How it Works" details, if
you the writer do not know that information - there is no way you can be
certain that what you are writing is accurate and useful. 

Andrew Plato 

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