Extreme documentation is an agile methodology for developing documentation in small to medium-sized teams in the face of vague or rapidly changing requirements.
#23326
A directory of hundreds of examples of online software documentation, categorized and rated by users.
#14213
Help! It's Not Just a Beatles Movie
Windows Help has steadily improved to the point where the Windows XP Help and Support Center provides nearly exhaustive answers to your queries. Here’s how the Help and Support Center works.
Crawford, Sharon. Microsoft (2001). Articles>Documentation>Help
#20161
Help! Six Fixes to Improve the Usability of Your Online Help 
Tight deadlines and limited resources often force wiiters to cut corners and release less than optimal help system designs. After considerable trial and error, I te come up with a checklist that can help you evaluate and improve your help system for the next release. Each question represents an important usability issue.
Timpone, Donna. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Documentation>Online>Help
#29990
The Help platform for Microsoft Windows is changing once again. Since 1995, Microsoft HTML Help has been the standard for Help systems for Windows applications, but the release of the next generation Windows operating system in 2005 will see a brand new XML-based Help platform. It is currently known as Help.Longhorn, or "Longhorn" Help, or sometimes as Help3 or TrésHelp.
Self, Tony. HyperWrite (2004). Articles>Documentation>Help>Microsoft Windows
#29970
This is a very simple example of integrating a J2SE application with the Apple Help Viewer application. This sample code has been updated to include a project that produces a universal binary. No code changes were required for it to run correctly on Intel-based Macintosh computers.
Apple Inc. (2007). Articles>Documentation>Help>Macintosh
#31177
Helping users move from being perpetual novices to experts is a tough task. As this blog post argues, good documentation helps. But you also need to create a product that users can be passionate about.
DMN Communications (2008). Articles>Documentation>User Experience
#13777
Here you will find the world's largest selection of WinHelp, HTMLHelp and HTML related files and hints.
#29918
A weblog for writers of documentation and users of Help Authoring Systems.
#30499
Hero Stuff: Saving 50% on Support Costs with Fax and Modem Support Documents
In the PC products market, customers insist on excellent support at rock-bottom prices. The traditional model of customer support, having a phone technician answer customer questions, is becoming too expensive.
Brown, Constance C. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Documentation>Online>Help
#11787
Heuristic Inspections for Documentation – 10 Recommended Documentation Heuristics
We all are familiar with Jakob Nielsen's heuristics for evaluating the usability of interfaces. When I was conducting a study on documentation usability, I started wondering if there existed a similar set of heuristics for evaluating the usability of documentation. The natural place to pose such a question was the STC Usability SIG mailing list. The response was that there was no heuristics set available although someone had tried to open the discussion in the mailing list some time ago. An answer, which led to the list of heuristics presented below, was something along the line 'Well, now that you asked, why don't you put the heuristics together' and so I did.
Purho, Vesa. Usability Interface (2000). Articles>Usability>Documentation
#30344
Hidden Factors of Documentation Quality -- Part 1
The first impulse of many documenters is to turn our work over to editors and graphic designers, or to form committees and develop style guidelines. All of these measures are useful, but none can assure us of quality when there are basic problems with the way we go about producing documentation.
Sesnovich, Bruce A. Boston Broadside (1993). Articles>Documentation>Quality>Technical Writing
#31991
The Hidden Power of the Online Manual
Writing software manuals is boring, isn't it? We often think, "My software is easy to use. The user interface is intuitive. Why should I waste so much time writing documentation which nobody will read anyway?" Sometimes it's true. I've never read the WinZip or Internet Explorer manuals. Everything seems clear enough without further explanation. Nevertheless, even if your manual isn't being helpful to your software users, it may be helpful to you. Publish your manual online and turn its hidden power into a real benefit for your business.
Crane, Dennis. Dr. Explain (2006). Articles>Documentation>Online>Technical Writing
#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
#14527
The writers at Software Publishing Corporation faced the challenge of reducing the page count of their manuals by more than 50%—without sacrificing quality, extending the schedule, or starting from scratch! They found that approaching this daunting task from several different directions at the same time proved to be the most effective. While the following tips apply primarily to DOS and Windows software manuals, the tips are a good starting point for streamlining any documentation set. The benefits include cutting dollars from the per unit cost of goods and promoting greater customer acceptance of documentation as a learning tool.
Repel, Timothy R. and Jennie Tan. STC Proceedings (1994). Presentations>Documentation>Methods
#29780
How Design Documents Enhance Information Product Development Process Quality
Panelists from LSI Logic Storage Systems review their company's approach to enhancing process quality by using design documents as process enforcement and project-planning tools for planning the development of information products (IP). Hear how effective planning solves problems that occur during the IP development process and how capturing the planning elements in design documents helps solve role-based problems for developers, editors, and managers. Discuss the many problems design documents help project teams solve: they help developers solidify the IP development task sequence, they help editors define the rhetorical context, and they help managers reduce the cost of rework.
Burroughs, Dia H., Randy Clark, Sylvia McCombs and Tony Washington. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Documentation>User Interface>Workflow
#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
#20336
How to Approach a Systems and Programming Documentation Project
The biggest concern in software development environments is the retention of programmers. What they are really concerned about is the knowledge drain. These organizations know they need to capture this knowledge, but they do not want to do it themselves. They are turning to the writers who have always written the user manuals. These writers, most having no systems or programming background, must develop internal documentation for use in a programming maintenance environment. They do not know where to begin. This paper outlines a methodology for developing systems and programming documentation for programmers in a maintenance environment.
Glick-Smith, Judith L. 'Judy'. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Documentation>Programming
#26112
How to Choose a Good Instructional Book about OpenOffice.org
If the success of an open source project can be measured by the number of third-party books about it, then OpenOffice.org is thriving. Not only is OpenOffice.org represented by a dozen books and pieces of training material on Amazon.com, but interest in OpenOffice.org is widespread enough that each of the books is geared to a slightly different audience. This article gives an overview of four of the current OpenOffice.org books, ending with a suggestion of which to buy for your own needs.
Byfield, Bruce. IT Manager's Journal (2004). Articles>Documentation>Software>OpenOffice
#30808
How to Convince Others of the Importance of Documentation
If you've been a technical writer for long, chances are you've had to convince someone of the importance of documentation. It just comes with the territory. People often don't see the value of writing technical manuals. So how do you convince them?
HelpScribe (2008). Articles>Documentation>Collaboration
#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
#15141
Suggests ways to get a good job by cutting production time and cost on user manuals while increasing access and usability.
Bush, Donald W. Intercom (2000). Careers>Documentation>TC
#30314
How to Plan On-line and Paper Versions of a Software Manual
On projects for which you must produce both on-line and paper documentation, there are many things you should consider before you start.
Kozuma, Bruce. Boston Broadside (1991). Articles>Documentation>Project Management>Planning
#19752
How to Publish a Great User Manual
When was the last time you curled up in bed with a really good user-manual just for the sheer joy of reading it? Never? Think that is some immutable law of nature, like the one that dictates all textbooks must be dull as dirt? 'Tain't so, McGee.
Tognazzini, Bruce. Nielsen Norman Group (1998). Articles>Documentation
#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
#11754
I open my usability presentations with this true story: I was given a large, frozen turkey a few years ago. When it came time to prepare the turkey, I placed it on a kitchen counter to let the turkey thaw.
Thomas, Joyce. Usability Interface (2001). Humor>Documentation
