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Mark writes..."You should be working with user interface designers to
make sure the use of the application requires as little "help" as
possible,not providing an exhaustive description of a GUI that is already
an effective communication vehicle."
And I respond... Yes, in a perfect world this would happen! However, it
has been my experience in several companies that the developers are "hands
off" and us measly lil' online help developers shouldn't even speak to
them. (I won't mention how many times I've pointed out errors to the
developers. If I'm going to write help, I'm certainly going to test my
procedures!)
It is also important to remember the audience for which the help system is
intended. I have written sophisticated online help, and I have written
"monkey-level" online help. To say that a field "should" not have a
description is to assume your user is smart and competent. We've all dealt
with enough CSR's at the receiving end of an 800 number to know this is not
always true!
Mark, what you describe is somewhat of a dream world. However, I'm glad to
hear there's a manager out there who believes in that philosopy! Got any
openings? **grin!**
