The Anatomy of a Help File: An Iterative Approach

This article presents an approach to Help file design that focuses on creating a task-centered user experience and accommodates an iterative development strategy. This methodology allows the introduction of user assistance into early test phases--not only getting earlier validation for its accuracy, but also supporting quality assurance testing by serving as the test scripts for interactions with the user interface. This approach can also be a self-contained strategy--that is, one that allows an iterative approach to user assistance development even if the rest of product development operates on a waterfall model.

Hughes, Michael A. UXmatters (2007). Articles>Documentation>Methods>Help

A Dual Path Approach to Developing Documentation  

The document development process is traditionally viewed as a series of steps along a single linear path. Instead, it is useful to view document development as consisting of activities along dual paths: one product-centered and one document-centered. Isolating a product-centered path reveals how much of your time is spent on activities other than writing--for example, learning about the product. It also highlights the ways in which the documentation is dependent on or shaped by the product.

Igel, Victoria E. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>Methods

How to Use Six Sigma to Improve Documentation  

Six Sigma is a tool you can use to ensure that your documentation is satisfying customer needs and expectations. The three case studies provided demonstrate ways in which Six Sigma has helped us make our documentation more effective by finding out more about the customer and getting the customer more involved. This paper does not teach Six Sigma methodology or its statistical background.

Beard, Lori and Erin Beal Welch. STC Proceedings (2002). Articles>Documentation>Methods

Incorporating Usability Testing into the Documentation Process    

Describes how one company approaches usability testing of documentation and incorporates usability testing into its writing process through a Documentation Usability Team.

Postava-Davignon, Christi-Anne, Candice Kamachi, Cory Clarke, Gregory Kushmerek, Mary Beth Rettger, Pete Monchamp and Rich Ellis. Technical Communication Online (2004). Articles>Usability>Methods>Documentation

Information Metrics: Keeping Your Writing Projects On Track  

Keeping information metrics for documentation projects gives managers the ability to more accurately estimate future projects. Publications departments can develop their own tools or they can use existing tools to track such things as page size, hours-per-page spent writing, illustrating, editing, and producing manuals; and the dependencies of each manual. This kind of information can help to determine development schedules, show how late changes affect the documentation process, and accurately determine what it will take to complete quality documentation on time and within budget.

Gordon, Judy L. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Documentation>Project Management>Methods

Lightweight Literate Programming: A Documentation Practice    

Lightweight literate programming (LLP) combines software documentation and coding in a way that can scaffold collaborations between technical communicators and programmers. We review the genesis and history of LLP, including its relationship to established single-sourcing methods. We then detail its use by programmers and discuss two models for writer/programmer collaboration using LLP. We finish by suggesting a few studies of working relationships between writers and programmers that LLP could facilitate.

Stavely, Allan, Lynda Walsh and John Shipman. Technical Communication Online (2008). Articles>Documentation>Programming>Methods

A Problem-Solving Process that Really, Really Works  

Under the auspices of Hayes Quality Program we were introduced to a problem-solving process that really works for us. It gives writers (or anyone!) a truly objective means for addressing and resolving problems, issues, confusions, inefficiencies, and other stumbling blocks in the documentation development process. It also teaches one to remove the personal from the problem, and focus on root causes versus individual fault. I will walk participants through the step-by-step methodology by which the problem-solving process works, demonstrate how to apply the process to a specific documentation problem, and provide a hands-on exercise.

Jandel-Leavitt, Juliette. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Documentation>Methods

Rhetorical Analysis of a Quick Reference Aid  

The need for timely and relevant computer documentation is a constant challenge. Sometimes there is a need to redesign such documentation to make it more useful. Rhetorical analysis is a useful aid for technical communicators in redesigning such documentation. Using Kenneth Burke’s notion of terministic screens, a quick reference aid for the users of a machine-aided translation system is examined from the perspective of graphic communication. Although rhetorical analysis cannot replace accepted principles of good design, it allows the technical communicator to examine design decisions from another perspective, giving one a very different set of questions to consider and some principles of explanation to justify design decisions.

Brooksbank, Patricia L. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Documentation>Methods>Rhetoric

Six Steps for Successful Document Downsizing  

By using the following method, the Mentor Graphics system management documentation and training group was able to achieve a 40% reduction in the size of the documentation needed to install and configure Mentor Graphics software. Not only did this reduction result in an approximate savings to the company of $50,000, but also produced a verifiable increase in customer satisfaction.

Tucker, Walt. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Documentation>Methods

Which Type of Online Manual is Best for You

So, the mandate has come down from senior management to "put those manuals online!" Now what do you do? As you know, there are many types of online manuals—but which is best for your situation? This article discusses the options.

Rosenberg, Nad. TechWRITE (2004). Articles>Documentation>Online>Methods