Extreme documentation is an agile methodology for developing documentation in small to medium-sized teams in the face of vague or rapidly changing requirements.
#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
#23963
GNOME Documentation Style Guide
The GNOME Documentation Style Guide provides guidelines for authors who want to contribute to the GNOME Documentation Project.
GNOME (2004). Reference>Style Guides>Documentation>Linux
#24694
Goal-Oriented Paper Versus Online Documentation Search Strategies 
In this age of information, advanced technology gives us access to more than ever imagined. Are people easily moving toward gathering information online instead of from paper? This study investigated novice and expert user access of paper versus online documentation.
Anson, Patricia H. and Robert Anson. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Documentation>Online
#19485
Going Global Without Going Broke
Companies are increasingly operating world wide. As a result they often need to produce documentation in several languages to meet market demands. The quality of the source document plays an important part in controlling the cost and release date of the localised documents. This article discusses several issues that need to be considered when producing documents for the multilingual marketplace.
O'Neill, Jennifer. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Documentation>International
#20332
Going Online: A Case Study in the Development and Implementation of Netscape NetHelp
Computerized Medical Systems, Inc. (CMS) - the worldâ*™s leading radiation therapy planning (RTP) company with over 1000 installed RTP systems and over 400 installed dosimetry systems - decided in late 1996 to move existing FOCUS documentation online. Reasons for this included: the existing documentation set perceived as too difficult to use; increasing printing cost; and customer feedback. Using Netscape NetHelp as a basis, the CMS documentation staff reduced printed documentation size by two-thirds while making the information more accessible. Reactions to FOCUSHelp have been highly favorable. Future plans include migrating to the NetHelp2 framework and reducing topic lengths.
Rupel, Roberta A., Ellard Douglas, Bill Bledsoe and Frank Watson. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Content Management>Documentation>Help
#19831
Going Online: Selecting the Right Tool
There are numerous tools that you can use to create online documentation. However, each tool has its strengths and weaknesses, and each is more appropriate for some types of information than others. This workshop explores many issues of online documentation tools: Why go beyond Windows Help? Which is better: HTML or Adobe Acrobat? What tools support cross-platform presentation? When should you use Workgroup tools such as Lotus Notes or Folio? When does SGML make sense? How to utilize a!ocument databases? When to use Management tools? Real examples developed using these tools will be given throughout the session. Participants will leave with a clear understanding of the pros and cons of each.
Rockley, Ann. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Documentation>Software>Help
#19925
Going Paperless — No Longer a Revolutionary Idea
Moving user documentation from paper to online requires long–term planning and hard work. You must rethink how you design documents and determine the best way to present information online. You can take steps to downsize the existing documentation workload. You may even change the way you work with the software development staff. As a result, you will probably produce better documents, start working a lot smarter and save the company a lot of money.
Mulreany, Sharon R. and Risa Glick. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Documentation>Online
#22399
A technical writing/technical communication weblog with tips, tools and templates for technical writers.
Walsh, Ivan. I Heart Tech Docs (2003). Resources>Documentation>Blogs>Technical Writing
#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
#29049
Traditional models of usability assume that usability is a quality that can be designed into a particular artifact. Yet constructivist theory implies that usability cannot be located in a single artifact; rather, it must be conceived as a quality of the entire activity in which the artifact is used. This article describes a distributed approach to usability, based on activity theory and genre theory. It then illustrates the approach with a four-decade examination of a traffic accident location and analysis system (ALAS). Using the theoretical framework of genre ecologies, the article demonstrates how usability is distributed across the many official and unofficial (ad hoc) genres employed by ALAS users.
Spinuzzi, Clay. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2001). Articles>Documentation>Usability>History
#21186
We often hear how the Web can be used to deliver technical documentation. But have you ever thought about the Web as technical documentation? When dozens, or perhaps hundreds, of people, all using the same product, start posting tips and solutions to problems on different Web sites, the entire Internet becomes a kind of crude users’ manual.
Martin, Maurice. Intercom (2003). Articles>Documentation>Online>Community
#20787
A Guide for Software Project Managers - Planning User Documentation
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)–2000 Edition is the main sourcebook in the project management field. Whilst it covers Project Communications Management, it doesn't extend to user documentation. This article seeks to provide guidance for project managers as to how the user documentation process fits in with the overall project planning. It examines: the traditional way documentation is approached and how it impinges on project planning the effects of making changes to this traditional approach.
Johnston, Carol. Cherryleaf (2003). Articles>Documentation>Project Management>Body of Knowledge
#19356
Guide to Chicago Style Documentation
A guide to using the Chicago Style for writing.
Temple University (2002). Resources>Documentation>Style Guides
#21590
Guidelines for Writing Technical Documentation for an International Audience
A guide to help technical writers in all countries who have to write English-language technical documentation for products that will be sold worldwide.
tekom (2003). Articles>Documentation>International>Technical Writing
#25011
Harnessing the Earthquake: Reaching Group Consensus When Changing the Documentation Process
A causal-analysis session is a problem-solving method that brings groups of people together to jointly solve common problems and make process changes. This method ensures that everyone who will be affected by a process change has the opportunity to provide input and agree to the solution. In large departments, reaching group consensus is a challenge. This paper presents our department's implementation of the causal-analysis method.
Coppola, Carolyn M. and Kristine Logan. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>Collaboration
#28786
Harry Miller on Multimedia Documentation
Miller, a technical editor at Microsoft interested in multimedia documentation, talks about why multimedia documentation is a growing trend and how writers can get started. He discusses Microsoft's Channel 9 and the human element with instructional screen demos.
Miller, Harry and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>Interviews>Documentation>Multimedia
#28540
HAT-Matrix.com is a new representation of an old standard--the Help Authoring Tool (HAT) Comparison Matrix that was available from helpstuff.com for five years (2001-2006). But instead of a static list, this site uses a searchable database. And instead of someone choosing the tools that are included, vendors choose whether to include their tools.
HAT-Matrix (2006). Resources>Documentation>Software>Help
#14962
Help Authoring Tools: a Comparison 
The purpose of this article is to give a rough evaluation of the various help authoring packages.
Conroy, Gary. GaryConroy.com (2002). Articles>Documentation>Software
#19715
Help Development: "Just in Time, and Just Enough"
Too often technical writers fall into the 'tell them everything and tell them all at once' pit. Guided by a well-meaning desire to 'educate' users, what these writers typically do is overwhelm them. Finding the information you need when you need it is a key to success in every business function of every company. Therefore, technical communicators who are able to provide their customers with quick and useful knowledge bring an incredible added value to a beleaguered work force constantly expected to do more and to do it faster.
Edwards, Verlane. STC Central Iowa (2000). Articles>Documentation>Online
#19950
As Help Authors, we often treat online help as a 'thing,' not an activity. We’ve favored the noun over the verb! This preference is natural for writers, who enjoy producing books. If we hope to survive on a dynamic development team, we must train ourselves away from writing books, toward helping people. This shift means examining the bigger picture and adopting different ways of working.
Sisler, Paul and Catherine M. Titta. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Documentation>Help>Online
#29926
The Help Landscape: A Mile Wide and 30 Seconds Deep
Two questions any writer must deal with are: 'What do I write about?' and 'How much do I say about it?' Essentially, these questions deal with the scope and the depth of a document. Technical communicators have a tendency to want to document a topic as completely as possible, and we carry this instinct with us when we architect and write Help files. In this column, I challenge that prevalent instinct and offer an alternative way of thinking about the scope and depth requirements of Help systems. The benefits of this approach are, I hope, better Help for users and, for our clients and employers, a more efficient use of technical communicators' time. First, I'll discuss three principles that underpin my perspective, then I'll give some practical advice about writing Help that people will actually use.
Hughes, Michael A. UXmatters (2007). Articles>Documentation>Help>Online
#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
#13673
A page about each of the major online Help technologies: HTML Help, JavaHelp, WebHelp, WebWorks Help, WinHelp, and WinHelp 2000.
