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Margaret wrote:
"Fortunately, the company I work for actively involves the writers in UI
development. The writer assigned to the project is expected to review and
correct all on-screen text."
Good show!! I'm glad someone finally has the opportunity to do it right. I
didn't relish documenting the typos as-is either, but knew the consequences
of confusing the issue by not doing that. My hat's off to you and your
management for wanting it done right.
Regards,
Pete Sanborn
-----Original Message-----
From: Beilby, Margaret [mailto:MBeilby -at- ebuilt -dot- com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2001 7:57 PM
To: 'Pete Sanborn'; TECHWR-L
Subject: RE: Software Text Incorrect
<<I irritated my writers by requiring that they document the typos
as-is. The reason being that, to the user, if it's misspelled on the screen
and correct in the manual, the user will look at the disparity as a problem
with the manual.>>
I don't like documenting typos "as-is," but do so rather than confuse the
user. My experience has been the same--the user sees the disparity as a
problem with the manual.
Fortunately, the company I work for actively involves the writers in UI
development. The writer assigned to the project is expected to review and
correct all on-screen text. Our QA group is also expected to submit formal
bug reports for any text errors they find (and they do a really good job).
So far, I haven't had any problems with the developers refusing to correct
textual errors.
It's also company policy (established by the CEO) that nothing goes out of
the company, without a writer reviewing and correcting it (if necessary). It
means a lot of work for us, but it keeps us busy and employed!
Margaret
mbeilby -at- ebuilt -dot- com
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