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you say...
> Manuals should be judged, not on
> whether the boss is happy with it, but on whether it does the job, as
> expressed in specifications agreed upon before writing begins.
I have never produced a manual that conformed to what I was asked to
produce at the start of the project. Now, some may consider that to be
just cause for banishment but in every case, the person who asked me to
produce the manual didn't really know what was needed. It takes a lot of
blood, sweat and tears as well as the occasional discreet application of
the Official Technical Writer's 2x4(TM) to convince the powers that be
what a real manual should and shouldn't contain.
If I blindly accepted a pre-project specification for a user's manual, I
would never admit to having anything to do with the end result. The shame
would be too great.
Mike
Mike Starr - WriteStarr Information Services
Technical Writer - Online Help Developer - Technical Illustrator
Graphic Designer - Desktop Publisher - MS Office Expert
Telephone (262) 694-0932 - Pager (414) 318-9509 - mailto:writstar -at- wi -dot- net
