Re: Sentence structure: Indeed it depends

["Dave L. Meek's User Account" <dave -at- ROGUE -dot- DISC-SYNERGY -dot- COM>]

Tracey May wrote:

>It may mean _very little_ at the user level, but usually it means
>_something_. When I encounter documentation that merely
>tells me what to do, and not why, I feel as if I'm missing
>something. I want the big picture.

>Most of the people I know enjoy learning. I don't think it's our role to
>simplify everything to the point that our users are unable to grasp
>the concepts behind the technology we're walking them through,
>that they're not able to see similarities in processes because they
>don't understand the processes themselves.

>It's a little more work to explain why something should be done,
>but I think it's worthwhile. I'm not saying we have to turn user
>guides into text books, but I think it's reasonable for us to
>explain succinctly why a particular action should be taken.

>Putting an explanation after the action works for me.

I agree with all of Tracey's points except the last one.  If I
don't know why I'm doing something, I find it difficult to repeat
the task without referring back to the manual.  That's
frustrating; at some point, I want to save time by just doing the
task, or I'll want to adapt the procedures to fit a special
circumstance or need.  In a modular design, knowing the "why"
lets the user "mix and match" without having a specific procedure
for each circumstance.

My one point of divergence from Tracey is I *usually* prefer
knowing the "why" just before the action.  Otherwise, the
question of "why" is on my mind until I find out, which keeps me
from fully concentrating on the item at hand.  Of course, this is
a personal preference that might not be typical.



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                      "Get a long little doggie!"


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Dave Meek