#30261
Nine Little-Known Secrets About Creating Great User Information
Outlining and structuring the manual are the most important major steps in creating a manual. Indeed, professional writers spend up to 50% of the total time on this task.
Cherryleaf (2007). Articles>Documentation
#30810
Nine Tips for Writing Better FAQs
Frequently asked questions, or FAQs, are an important part of your product documentation. Writing well-targeted and thorough FAQs allow users to quickly find the answers they need so they can be more productive when using your product. Here are some tips for writing FAQs that will get your users on track quickly and help reduce Customer Support calls.
HelpScribe (2008). Articles>Documentation>Writing>FAQ
#20074
No Dumping Allowed: The Right Way to Put Documents Online 
The best way to fail at online documentation is to dump existing paper documents online. Successful online documentation requires thoughtful design that takes account of the many subtle differences between paper and online documents. This demonstration shows why dumping documents online is a bad idea, what you should do instead, how to convince your management not to dump documents online, and what to do if they require you to dump documents online.
Horton, Katherine W. and William K. Horton III. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Documentation>Online
#12941
Nobody Reads Manuals, Do They?
We technical writers have a mantra that we mutter quietly whenever someone asks an obvious question about how to use our software: 'RTFM.' But though Reading The (ahem) 'Fine' Manual would often solve the problem--assuming the purchaser actually received one of those increasingly rare printed manuals with the software--only technical writers seeking inspiration on how to do their own jobs better can be relied upon to read product documentation. To make matters worse, many of us admit that we'd rather play with a product, hoping to figure out what to do, than use the documentation.
Hart, Geoffrey J.S. TECHWR-L (2000). Articles>Documentation>Usability
#29867
Non-Fatal Errors: Creating Usable, Effective Error Messages
'Memory requests for some applications may be denied.' 'Error 404: File not found.' 'Invalid entry. Check your info and resubmit.' 'Fatal error. Procedure aborted.' It's often easy to identify what kinds of error messages don't help users, but it can be tricky to avoid them, and even more of a challenge to create the opposite: error messages that give users a clear indication of the problem, offer information to help them fix it, and provide tips on how to avoid the same situation in the future. This paper details the steps involved in creating understandable, helpful error messages, and suggests ways of communicating the value of good error messages to managers and executives.
Wilska, Emily. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Documentation>Help>Online
#27654
Non-Fatal Errors: Creating Usable, Effective Error Messages
It's often easy to identify what kinds of error messages don't help users, but it can be tricky to avoid them, and even more of a challenge to create the opposite: error messages that give users a clear indication of the problem, offer information to help them fix it, and provide tips on how to avoid the same situation in the future. This paper details the steps involved in creating understandable, helpful error messages, and suggests ways of communicating the value of good error messages to managers and executives.
Wilska, Emily. WritersUA (2004). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design>Online
#29414
Notes on the Documentation Development Process
Define your audience, and their needs, explicitly and carefully. The definition process may lead you to include additional material such as indexes, system requirements, and contextual notes (e.g., lists of exceptions), as well as the preplanned documentation.
Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Geoff-Hart.com (1996). Articles>Documentation>Collaboration
#22926
Notes Toward a Socially Informed Pedagogy for Computer Documentation 
This article extends Johnson-Eilola's main argument and then, using a thought experiment, examines an extended example of its implications. The experiment follows a student who learns how to produce technical communication artifacts following the philosophy that informs most technical communication classes and that leads to production of the functional but not conceptual systems Johnson-Eilola critiques. The article concludes by recommending changes in overall curricula and in individual courses that would better educate communicators to account for the social implications of their work
Selber, Stuart A. Journal of Computer Documentation (2002). Articles>Education>Documentation
#27984
Obtaining User Feedback: How Useful Are Your Online Help Systems?
Surveys or questions posed to users may not be entirely useful when determining whether a user's experience with the help feature was successful or not. The author provides instructions on implementing a tool that will provide this kind of feedback.
Webb, Jeremy. Intercom (2006). Articles>Documentation>Online>Assessment
#27906
Occupational Health and Safety Laws Today
The state and the government, as we understand, are responsible for the safety security of the citizens. The state and its organs understand this as a mandate and this also means realising the lofty goal of safety and health for all in every walk of life.
Honnecker, Matthias. tekom (2006). Articles>Documentation>Legal>Government
#29665
Offshore Documentation Development in India: Lessons from Experience
Increasingly, many U.S. companies are locating documentation projects offshore, in countries such as India. Setting up and managing offshore documentation teams creates a special set of challenges, in areas such as hiring, training, planning, coping with time zone and cultural differences, and coordinating work done offshore and onsite. This presentation provides an overview of the offshoring trend and its implications for technical writers and managers. It also describes the challenges of managing offshore documentation projects and provides some guidelines and best practices for resolving them.
Abedrabbo, Francisco and Pavi Sandhu. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Documentation>Outsourcing>Offshoring
#24729
In the eras of Windows 3.x and earlier versions of Windows 95, the only help system people worked with or even knew about was WinHelp. Problems started with the transition to Windows 95, when developers and users alike had to learn to deal with WinHelp 4.0's separate dialog with the Contents, Index, and Find tabs.
Liske, David E. MVPs.org (2003). Articles>Documentation>Online>Help
#23430
Nobody reads user manuals for pleasure. And yet we all make our living from them, and hope that what we produce is at least useful, if not actually enjoyable
Bardez, Jean-Paul. TC-FORUM (2000). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design
#22862
One Hundred and One Standards for Online Communication
A wealth of opinions and conventions are available on designing and writing good online documentation. This paper compiles many of these guidelines into one central list for easy reference. The session will discuss reasons for the guidelines as well as provide references for further research on areas of interest.
Stevens, Dawn M. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Documentation>Online
#22861
Designing an effective online documentation strategy involves considering both the needs of the user and the needs of the business for which the documentation is being developed. This paper examines how Dell Computer Corporation devised a separate online documentation strategy for each of its four business lines based on the target customer and particular objectives of each business.
Borelli, Paul J. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Documentation>Online
#24335
One-Stop Shopping: Creating a Single Source Information Base for Multipurpose Delivery
Until recently, many companies developed two sets of documentation for each product - one set was delivered with the product, and the other set was used for customer training. In this panel presentation, we will discuss a new approach used at Lucent Technologies. Lucent is producing task-oriented customer documentation, stored in an asset repository, that can be tailored to each customer’s requirement and that can also be used for training purposes. This new way of producing information involves an integrated effort and provides order and structure to the development of information products. Each panelist will develop a different aspect of this process. how and why of applying order and structure to the process.
McGuire, Mildred E., Lee Anne Center, Gregory Henderson, James Moran and Christine Wentworth. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Documentation>Single Sourcing
#20193
Online Documentation and Local Area Networks
The world of policies and procedures has grown with technology. The trend is now to move documentation from paper to electronic media. Most companies are taking advantage of this technology andpublishing their policies and procedures on their own intranet or Local Area Network. There are things to consider before choosing a product and making this drastic change. These are: Product Functionality, ReadabilityNiewability, File Portability, and Cost. Each company’s documentation requirements and busmess strategies will ultimately determine which online documentation product to choose.
Anderson, Michelle E. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Documentation>Policies and Procedures
#10319
Companies can improve customer satisfaction while reducing training time and product support costs by integrating online documentation with product training. Online documentation can be designed to be not only the reference at the point of use but also the primary instructional medium used during training. This use of the online documentation during training increases user acceptance of it and helps develop the required skills for its use. This expanded role for online documentation provides new opportunities for technical communicators to add value to their roles within their companies. This article defines reference-based instruction and outlines its benefits. It describes how reference-based instruction can be incorporated into an instructional system design (ISD) and provides specific examples of learning objectives and student exercises. It lists guidelines for how to structure usability tests for Help systems, and finally, it advises how technical communicators can use reference-based instruction to ex
Hughes, Michael A. Technical Communication Online (1997). Articles>Documentation>Instructional Design>Education
#11749
Online Help - Too Much of a Good Thing?
Online help was originally thought of as an independent support system. It allows the user to access information easily and immediately, whenever it is needed. As such, it was thought to be the most often used support system on a user’s computer. However, from a number of sources, we have learned that online help is used less frequently than we originally thought. Usability tests, especially on web applications, often show that users do not use the online help; or if they do, they do not find the required information. Field engineers and customer support representatives often report that they need to explain information that is documented in the help because users do not use it. To provide more effective assistance, we must answer the question: 'Why is online help not used?'
Parush, Avi and Debi Kaporovsky Parush. Usability Interface (2001). Articles>Documentation>Help
#24428
Online Help Across the Great Platform Divide: A Case Study
The requirements of your online help task narrows and focuses your choice of authoring and compiling tools. The first and most important step is to clearly define your task. What exactly do you need to create and from what? In National Instruments’ case, we had to maintain our competitive advantage by adding Windows help to our bestselling application software package. Secondarily, we wanted to port that help to versions for the Macintosh and several UNIX platforms. Due to time and personnel restraints, we used the material prepared for the hard copy documentation to create the WinHelp.
Chamberlain, Thomas R. and Debby Gumto. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Documentation>Case Studies
#20748
Online Help: You Think It's Documentation but Your Company Thinks It's Software
As help systems become more complex, integrating text with multimedia, scripting languages, search engines, etc., the line between documentation development and software development blurs. Some companies, especially those that have to adhere to federal or ISO-regulated procedures, are starting to look at online help as a product with its own development needs. This shift is changing the online help from documentation into software, subjecting it to the same controls and processes. This paper looks at how one company is handling this transition.
Rupel, Roberta A. and Peggy Schillinger. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Documentation>Online>Help
#24925
Calls on technical communicators to suggest a new term for modular documentation accessible via a tri-pane interface.
Carmel, Patricia A. Intercom (2005). Articles>Documentation>Online>Help
#22914
Online Reference: The Ultimate in User-Friendly Documentation
This teaching hospital in Texas has successfully implemented an online reference system that allows access to nearly 14,000 employees in more than 20 cities. A cross-functional project team was formed to address the needfor immediate access to current policies and procedures across the entire enterprise. This team researched, developed, and implemented an effective and successful system that was also easy to learn and use.
Richardson, Verna. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Documentation>Biomedical>Online
#14855
Online Support Systems: Tutorials, Documentation, and Help 
Online support systems help computer users achieve goals and accomplish tasks within the contexts of their primary work. Although this definition is extremely broad and includes a wide range of digital forms—from low-end interface elements to high-end hypermedia applications, in this chapter we generally focus on planning, designing, and testing mid-range systems: tutorials, documentation, and help, regardless of their virtual instantiation. We discuss electronic rather than print-based forms because organizations increasingly deliver user support online for a variety of reasons: to reduce development and production costs; to anticipate distributed computing systems and other environments in which users rarely have easy access to print-based materials; and to benefit from the sophisticated searching and interactive capabilities that online environments can provide. In cases where print-based support is still necessary (for example, in packing instructions and in some troubleshooting areas), processes for constructing these documents can be extrapolated from the discussion that follows.
Selber, Stuart A., Johndan Johnson-Eilola and Brad Mehlenbacher. North Carolina State University (1997). Articles>Documentation>EPSS
#21435
Online-Dokumentation aus Anwendersicht
Benutzerinstruktion muß sein. In Form von Online-Documentation ist sie unmittelbarer Teil des Programms.
von Obert, Alexander. Techwriter.de (1998). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design>Help
