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Subject:Re:Jobs in the G.W.N and one quick Q From:"Anameier, Christine A - Eagan, MN" <CANAMEIE -at- email -dot- usps -dot- gov> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 12 Sep 2002 14:25:00 -0400
Erin Cullingham wrote:
> My plan, just to save me HOURS of proofreading and
> rewriting grief, is to mainly leave the content as
> is, and just proofread for spelling, punctuation,
> any really hideous grammatical issues, and to
> clean up the formatting. I could spend days on this puppy
> if I really wanted to tidy up the grammar/sentence
> structure/English language.
Judging from the quote you've provided, I'd rewrite that puppy.
Redundancy matters. If this is a "What's New"/installation guide, it needs to be
concise and clear, not clogged with spec-like language like "The Manage Plans
button found throughout the Planner application links the user to the Manager
application..." (Revised: "To start the Manager application, click the Manage
Plans button." [screenshot] It still focuses on the interface instead of the
user's tasks and goals, but for a "what's new" guide that's probably acceptable.
For a user guide I'd take a whole different approach: what does the user want to
DO in the Manager application...)
Why is the product manager writing documentation?? Rewrite. Make it good.
Christine
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