#24160
Empirical Proof for Presenting Screen Captures in Software Documentation 
None of the previous studies on screen captures addressed the functions in the framework. There was no empirical research on any of the four functions of screen captures. This article presents our research on these functions. Each section starts with a brief explanation of the function. Next, we illustrate the screen capture designs used to test the function. The remainder of each section explains the setup and results of the empirical study. The article ends with some general conclusions about the functions of screen captures.
Gellevij, Mark and Hans Van Der Meij. Technical Communication Online (2004). Articles>Documentation>Graphic Design>Screen Captures
#24884
The Empowered User: A New Approach To Software Documentation 
User empowerment offers a strategy for addressing the software end user's needs. The definition of user empowerment emphasizes a user-driven, informationmanagement oriented approach in response to changes that have taken place in the modern workplace after computers and computer software arrived. Working with software requires a significant shift in thinking and learning, responding to increased abstraction, isolation, and information volumes. Computermediated work demands that users develop new skills and job roles, and that documentation writers develop new techniques for manuals.
Barker, Thomas. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design
#30491
Enhancing Customer Satisfaction by Assuring Documentation Quality
From the customer's perspective, an important and visible part of a product or service is its documentation. Bellcore's Technical Publications (Tech Pubs) organization uses a Quality Assurance (QA) program that focuses on enhancing customer satisfaction through delivering high-quality documentation. This program emphasizes a 'network' approach to documentation development, whereby technical writers can most efficiently use the support network of QA reviewers and management available to them. The Tech Pubs QA program draws on the needs of clients and the expertise of technical writers to strive to achieve the highest level of quality possible in producing documentation.
Dolese, Cathy and Tara Durkin. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Documentation>Quality>User Centered Design
#26733
Enterprise Agility: SOX and Enterprise Information Integration
The intent of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) can be characterized as risk reduction: reduce errors, inhibit fraud, and provide shareholders with transparent equal-access to material knowledge. But implementation is principally procedural controls and documentation, under threat of penalty. The vague parts of SOX are where the real leverage lies: principles of intent, and corporate transparency.
Dove, Rick. Paradigm Shift International (2005). Articles>Knowledge Management>Information Design>Documentation
#19506
Example Elaboration as a Neglected Instructional Strategy
Summarizes psychological research on why some people learn better from examples than others do, and applies the results to improve software documentation and literacy outreach projects.
Girill, T.R. STC East Bay (2001). Articles>Documentation>Design
#29375
Exploring Information Design and Development
Known to write a script or two to automate repetitive tasks like help builds, she also likes to write posts about XML-based information models like Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA). She often experiments with online help technology, enjoys writing blog entries, and wants to find new ways to use communication to help people understand technical solutions to complex problems.
Gentle, Anne. BMC Software (2007). Resources>Information Design>Documentation>Blogs
#24422
Figuring Out What Your Customers Really Need
Effective technical manuals and training meet the needs of the customer. No one will argue with that statement. But the trick is to identify the needs of the customer. This paper describes one method to focus product information development on the customer: the needs analysis survey. This methodology that is common in course development and training identifies the tasks customers perform. It also allows course developers and technical communicators to collaborate on an area that they both understand.
Brockett, Susan H. and Susan Katz. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design
#20328
First Contact: Talking to Your Documentation Users
You've never met them before. To you, they may represent the unknown and the strange. They view things differently, and their ways may seem almost alien. Yet you are supposed to serve their needs. They are your customers. Isn't it time you made first contact? In this paper, we share lessons learned and invite you to being your own voyage of discovery.
Macdonald, Kyla and Judith Rachel. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design
#23576
This presentation addresses designers and documenters who develop technologies for human use. The content is based on an intensive 42-hour training package, developed by Communications and Training Inc. Course content and duration can be modified to meet individual requirements. One day interactive workshops are also available.
Hofer, Klaus C. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design
#18766
For usability’s sake, the development group at Strohl Systems created a navigational coach that embedded user assistance within the company's flagship product. Now we're redesigning the product and building it around the user assistance.
Marion, Craig. STC Proceedings (1999). Design>Documentation>Help
#20330
From Purchase to Productivity: Bridging the Documentation Gap
This presentation will describe an area of documentation that is often overlooked--that which covers the process between the customer purchasing a computer system or upgraded software and the customer becoming productive using that system or software. This information includes all that needs to be planned and accomplished to get new software up, running, and integrated with existing software. Unisys Corporation fills this gap with what we call 'Release Documentation.' This presentation describes the who, what, where, when, and how of that process.
Alexander, Bruce, Avis French and Elaine Randolph. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design
#28370
From Software Documentation to E-learning: Making a Switch
Interested in making the transition from software documentation to e-learning? Read about some steps that will help you ease the switch and make the most of your new opportunity.
Malhotra, Dhupinder K. Intercom (2006). Articles>Documentation>Instructional Design
#19057
Technical communicators have become increasingly interested in how to 'open up' the documentation process - to encourage workers to participate in developing documentation that closely fits their needs. This goal has led technical communicators to engage in usability testing, user-centered design approaches, and, more recently, open source documentation. Although these approaches have all had some success, there are other ways to encourage the participatory citizenship that is implied in these approaches. One way is through an open systems approach in which workers can consensually modify a given system and add their own contributions to the system.
Spinuzzi, Clay. ACM SIGDOC (2002). Articles>Documentation>Information Design>Open Source
#31748
The gaps in your documentation aren’t there because you haven’t consider a particular level of user; the gaps in your documentation are there because you haven’t considered how one level of user becomes another. How DO you get from Beginner to Expert?
McLean, Gordon. One Man Writes (2008). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design>Technical Writing
#23389
Give Them Printed Documentation, Too!!!
The current trend among technical communicators is a twisted form of minimalism that says the documentation should contain procedural documentation but little or no reference documentation. I believe that this trend is a disservice to our customers and tends to increase technical support costs because customers subjected to this form of documentation have little or no access to the information they need. If it’s not there, they can't find it.
Starr, Mike. TC-FORUM (2002). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design
#19125
A Good Installation Guide Increases User Satisfaction and Reduces Support Costs
In its first endeavor, the new Customer Documentation Group at SABRE Travel Information Network has shown that it adds value.
Blackwell, C. Al. Technical Communication Online (1995). Design>Documentation>Usability
#19124
A Good User's Guide Means Fewer Support Calls and Lower Support Costs
Good user documentation means fewer client support calls and lower support costs at GE Information Services in Rockville, Maryland.
Spencer, Cathy J. and Diana Kilbourn Yates. Technical Communication Online (1995). Design>Documentation>Usability
#23118
Help Strategies and Their Effect on Graphical Icon Usage
An increasingly popular component of modern graphical human-computer interfaces are graphical command buttons. Studies have shown that graphical command buttons can enhance user productivity. However, two factors, the time required to acquire a working knowledge of the graphical command set and the need for frequent use to maintain the knowledge limit the effectiveness of graphical command buttons as a user interface strategy. This study attempts to quantify the effects of four types of help (balloon style, a mouse documentation line at the bottom of the screen, a help browser, and hardcopy documentation) on the ability of novice users to acquire a working knowledge of a graphical command set. The study did not find any significant difference (based on the anova and manova tests) between the four treatments.
McAlister, Britt and Chavi Greengart. SHORE (1997). Design>Documentation>Human Computer Interaction>Help
#13777
Here you will find the world's largest selection of WinHelp, HTMLHelp and HTML related files and hints.
#19924
High-Level Design for Documentation: A User-Centered Approach
This paper discusses how information designers, especially those who are members of multidisciplinary teams following a user-centered design (UCD) approach to designing a product, can define a highlevel design for a product’s information. It will discuss what data designers need before they can make design decisions and what activities they can perform to define a high-level design. A partial list of new skills that technical communicators need for UCD is also included.
Szydlik, Frederick P. STC Proceedings (1996). Design>Documentation>User Centered Design
#19126
How the Process and Organization Can Help or Hinder Adding Value
Do better information products result when technical communicators are well integrated into product development teams?
Pieratti, Denise D. Technical Communication Online (1995). Design>Documentation>Information Design>Usability
#31894
How to Create User-Centered Documentation, Interview with Joe Sokohl
In this podcast, Joe Sokohl explains how to create user-centered documentation by contacting, observing, and interviewing users to gather information about what types of information they use and the help deliverables they actually want.
Sokohl, Joe and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2008). Articles>Interviews>Documentation>User Centered Design
#19501
How to Stop Writing Documentation and Start Working for Your Users
How do you stop writing documentation and instead give people the information they need to use a product? You start by understanding your users: their level of expertise, the tasks they need to accomplish, and the problems they are likely to run into. Then you can help them do their work by presenting the information from their point of view and focusing on real tasks, rather than product functions. With this background, you can develop information that is easy to understand, easy to find, and visually effective.
Bergen, Karen A. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design
#10018
This site offers material on a wide range of HTML-related topics. We hope that with this site as a reference, you will be able to create Web sites that can be used by every person on the Internet, regardless of browser, platform, or settings.
Web Design Group, The (1999). Design>Documentation
#23264
Hypertext for Handling Conceptual Material
Turning 'help' systems and 'browsers' into robust structured-document viewers: the DocBrowser.
Hoffman, Michael. Hypertext Navigation. Articles>Documentation>Web Design>Web Browsers
