Re: What is not mandated is forbidden

[Fred Wersan <fwersan -at- mak -dot- com>]

Kevin wrote:
Does everyone subscribe to the notion that customer docs should contain only what is necessary?

Is there a place for material that is good to know, or that might reduce customer inquiries, but is not necessarily critical to performing a task?


1. What is your definition of necessary - and for which of your customers?  A newbie, or someone who has used your type of software for years? Someone who likes lots of conceptual background, or someone who just wants to see procedures? Your target for information load is somewhere between the extremes. I tend toward more info. People who don't want it can ignore it. People who need it will find it.

2. Yes. Absolutely. Customer inquiries are expensive. Adding a note or an extra explanatory section is cheap by comparison.

Fred

--
Fred Wersan
VT MAK, Principal Technical Writer
150 Cambridge Park Drive, 3rd Floor, Cambridge, MA 02140
857-209-3469 fwersan -at- mak -dot- com

Where Live, Virtual, and Constructive Simulation Meets the Web
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