RE: Benchmarking Technical Documentation

["Richard Smith" <Richard -dot- Smith -at- windriver -dot- com>]

> Unfortunately, they can't tell me exactly WHY the documentation
> is so good.

This shouldn't be very hard to communicate. All good docs share one common
thread. They contain the information users need. That's all.

I've heard people say that things like typos, bad grammar, incorrect usage,
etc. all will cloud the credibility of a doc. That's a load of you-know-what
IMO. If I need to know the jumper settings to get board X to work, do I care
if it sounds like it's written by a third grader? No. Do I care if the file
is a PDF that makes me scroll three pages to the right? Not if it gets the
board working for me.

Don't take that to mean the spelling and grammar don't matter. Take it to
mean that most users, while they will gleefully point such errors out to
you, care most about finding the content they need. That's what makes a
document good. Usability, readability, format, and style are all icing on
the info-cake.


Richard Smith

> Subject: Benchmarking Technical Documentation

> Hi,
>
> I'm a junior tech writer at a large high-tech company. On more than one
> occasion, my fellow writers have commented to me that "XYZ
> Company has great
> documentation" or "customers consistently rate XYZ Company's
> documentation
> very high."
>
> Unfortunately, they can't tell me exactly WHY the documentation
> is so good.
>
> I get feedback on my manuals from senior writers and editors in my group,
> but I'm left wondering if my writing follows any of the "best practices"
> used in other companies.
>
> I'm wondering if anyone on the list has used benchmarking to compare your
> documentation to that of other companies (or, for that matter, to
> other pubs
> groups within your own organization).
>
> Thanks!
>
> Dave...


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