Let's Stop Writing Documentation and Start Working for the Users
http://www.stc.org/confproceed/1999/PDFs/stc-60.pdf

Hackos, JoAnn T.
STC Proceedings
1999

Abstract:

Technical communication's long-time focus on task-oriented documentation has left customers with too many tasks and too much information; itï¿Âs time for a new approach. A user-centered approach reflecting a thorough understanding of users and how they engage the product is the surest route to effective documentation and training. To understand what users need, we need to get closer to them by spending time in their workplaces, watching them execute everyday tasks, and listening to them. Through this kind of ethnographic activity, we will become user experts, gaining credibility within our own organizations and our user communities.