Re: Documenting a "wizard"

[Kate Schneider <kateschneider42 -at- gmail -dot- com>]

This is good discussion and I tend to agree. I like checklist idea.

Perhaps our wizards are just far too complicated. :)

On Thursday, May 8, 2014, Stuart Burnfield <slb -at- westnet -dot- com -dot- au> wrote:

> On Thu, May 8, 2014 at 2:47 PM, Hannah Drake  wrote:
>  >_ My argument is it's redundant, because the wizard explains
> exactly_
>  >_ what it is__ IN the wizard itself (I know because I wrote the text
> and_
>  >_ helped__ design the__ wizard). I also pointed out that if we have
> to_
>  >_ document the wizard, we__ failed at creating a useful wizard._
>
> Hannah, you said exactly what popped into my head when I read the
> subject line. There's not much worse than the so-called 'friendly'
> wizard that has a field, a Next button and 100,000 grey pixels, and
> sends the user off somewhere else to read instructions that should fit
> easily in all that unused space on the dialog box.
>
> Documentation should be limited to 'Before you begin' or 'About this
> task' material. Robert's example of a checklist is a good one. You
> don't want them to have to stop in the middle of the wizard to get
> some vital information from a network admin.
>
> Kate suggests you could document tips and tricks and examples, but if
> this sort of information would be necessary or useful, a wizard is the
> wrong interaction model for that task.
>
> Good luck with your colleague, Hannah. May all your wizards be
> Gandalfs and not Sarumans :^)
>
> --- Stuart
>
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-- 
Kate Schneider
Cell: 402-214-4887
Email: kateschneider42 -at- gmail -dot- com
www.linkedin.com/in/kateschneider/
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