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Subject:Re: QUESTION: The Role of the Tech Writer From:"M. Dannenberg" <midannen -at- SI -dot- BOSCH -dot- DE> Date:Fri, 7 Nov 1997 13:45:06 +0100
WandaJane Phillips schrieb:
> I've been contemplating a philosophy for a while now and it is,
> apparently,
> time to go public with my musings and get some *real life* feedback.
>
> ...
> But, what about the rest of the world, folks who've cut
> wood the same way all their lives are faced with a computer console
> ten
> years away from retirement. What kind of stress is involved in that?
> And how
> can I, as a technical writer, mitigate the shock of that shift?
Good question. Documentation can help somewhat, if it's done right, but
I think a more basic problem is that in software design (or any other
development of any technology) is always technology centered and not
user centered. Most programmers I've met think in nothing but
algorithms, the user interface is very often an afterthought. There's a
common joke among programmers which goes "programming could be so much
fun, if it wasn't for those damn users".
I'm sure it has happened to a lot of people on the list that they had to
write 10 pages to explain something that could have been described on
half a page if it had been designed properly. Trouble is, most users
don't understand this either. If someone has problems using a program
most of the time they'll think "I'm too stupid" rather than "this user
interface sucks".
There's hope, though. In the last couple of years VCRs, for instance,
have gone from completely impossible to merely annoying. Within the next
few generations of devices we might even see something usable. The more
mass-market these things became, the clearer the competitive advantage
of a good user interface was. With PCs becoming household items, I think
we'll see similar developments in software. Until then we'll just be
plastering over the cracks, though.
Mike (feeling optimistic on a Friday afternoon)
--
Mike Dannenberg
ETAS GmbH & Co.KG
midannen -at- si -dot- bosch -dot- de
