Re: You Don't Need to Know How

Subject: Re: You Don't Need to Know How
From: Andrew Plato <intrepid_es -at- yahoo -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2001 08:53:48 -0700 (PDT)

"Ruth Lundquist" wrote...

> Completely untrue. I have know idea *how* my double oven with convection

> cooking works, but I could certainly explain to anyone how to cook
> everything from a pizza to a souffle using it. I could tell you how to
set
> the delayed timer to start cooking several hours from now, and I could
tell
> you how to clean it. I'm a great cook & I'm great at using the oven. I'm

> not an engineer & I have no idea how to build an oven or what makes it
> work. Thus far, it has not been a problem. ;-)

You actually do know how your oven works. You might not know every part
number and element, but you have intimate knowledge of how it works. Its
just that the oven is so simple, that you take the "how" aspect for
granted.

Thus your example is unrealistic. No, of course you don't need to know
every intimate piece of your watch, a stove, or a VCR. These things are
relatively straightforward technologies. Were you documenting a VCR, you
wouldn't need to know much more than there are heads and motors and
amplifiers inside.

But what about a three tier client/server implementation for a medical
claims billing software (I actually documented a program like this once.)
Do you have even the foggiest idea how this works. Probably not.

Hence the problem. You cannot properly document complex technology unless
you have some understanding of how it all works. This is fundamental to
understanding what it does and why it does it that way. Watches, VCRs, and
stoves are terrible comparisons because they're obvious and commonplace.

Most of us do not have the luxury to document commonplace technologies.
We're working on cutting edge or at least complex technologies and
scientific information. Yes, if all you do all day is document how to use
a VCR, you can remain ignorant. But, if you're going to be working on a
complex new software package, you cannot remain ignorant. You're doing
yourself, your company, and your readers a tremendous disservice.

Andrew Plato

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger
http://phonecard.yahoo.com/

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

*** Deva(tm) Tools for Dreamweaver and Deva(tm) Search ***
Build Contents, Indexes, and Search for Web Sites and Help Systems
Available now at http://www.devahelp.com or info -at- devahelp -dot- com

Learn about tools and technologies for user assistance developers at
The Help Technology Conference, August 21-24 in Boston, MA
Details and online registration at http://www.SolutionsEvents.com


---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.


Follow-Ups:

Previous by Author: Re: Benchmarking Technical Documentation
Next by Author: Re: You Don't Need to Know How
Previous by Thread: RE: You Don't Need to Know How
Next by Thread: Re: You Don't Need to Know How


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads