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Subject:Re: Future of documentation in Web-based apps From:Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 28 Jun 2001 20:55:24 -0700
Kathryn Scoffield wrote:
> My boss has asked me to research the future of documentation in web-based
> apps. Our director has mentioned future apps that use "easy-to-use browser
> based screens that users will not need guides for."
Sounds like your director has become a True Believer. You might ask him
or her (politely, of course, unless you feel the urge to move on), what
makes browser-based screens any easier to use than any other interface.
Ease of use depends on the design and on the application, not on the
medium used to build the interface. Widget sets may differ somewhat, but
they're still only the raw material, not the finished product.
And "intuitive" interfaces? No such thing, if by "intuitive" you mean
something that most users can fully understand with almost no effort.
Usually, what the word means is an interface that looks like a familiar
one. However, that can lead to interfaces that aren't well-suited to the
purpose at hand, or to analogies that are as misleading as they are
useful. For example, one well-known backup solution displays your
progress on gas and oil gauges. This analogy is obvious to anyone who
has seen a car, but, since gauges show when you need to do something
(put gas or oil in), it's not a very strong one, and potentially
confusing.
Your story reminds me of a company I encountered that was proud of its
web-based remote administration tools. These tools, the company's
officers said, were going to blow all the existing tools out of the
water. My favorite was the web-based tool for remotely configuring a
connection to the internet. Then, of course, there was the fact that an
elementary security precaution is to make sure that the root user can't
log on remotely - which gives you the option of either compromising the
machine, or not using the tools.
Anyway, a final suggestion: if the director starts talking about the
paperless office, run for cover...
--
Bruce Byfield 604.421.7177 bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com
"I asked a wise man for advice, I told him once and I told him twice,
My life is one long damage limitation,
He smacked me hard about the head, he handed me a card that read,
Work like you are living in the early days of a better nation."
-OysterBand
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