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Subject:Re: Reader Feedback From:"Karen Molloy" <Karen_Molloy -at- i2 -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L, a list for all technical communication issues" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 1 Sep 1999 11:32:17 -0400
Here are a few ideas for getting user feedback on documentation.
Does your company have an annual user's conference? If so, you could hand out a
user/reader feedback survey at the conference, provide well-marked drop-off
boxes, and publicize prizes to be given away at a random drawing. This method
has worked for me in the past.
Otherwise, provide a way to give feedback on the Web. Even back in the
print-only days, the survey in the back of the books rarely yielded many
responses. In a Help file or pdf file, give the URL so a user wouldn't even
have to type it. If your doc is an HTML file, of course, you could have the
feedback page launch immediately. Lotus Notes has a URL embedded the bottom of
each Help topic so one can easily give feedback. They've heard from me a few
times :)
If you or others on your team work closely with customers, perhaps you could
contact a few by email and ask whether they would be willing to answer a verbal
survey by phone. Then call the contact and ask your questions. A conversation
yields far more information than a written form.
