Re: Consequences of inadequate docs/training

["Martin Page" <mpage -at- csl -dot- co -dot- uk>]

"Tom Murrell"
> The documentation would have the biggest Danger Warning I could put in it.

I haven't seen any modern weapons manuals, but they must be full of
warnings - e.g. "Don't call down an air strike within 50m of your position."
"Establish positive identification before firing on target" and so on.

So, how do you avoid overloading the manuals with warnings and cautions to
the extent that you make the reader blasé or destroy their faith in the
equipment?

(This probably also applies to other critical real-time systems, e.g.
medical software)



"Tom Murrell" <trmurrell -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote in message news:147501 -at- techwr-l -dot-  -dot-  -dot- 
>
> --- Martin Page <mpage -at- csl -dot- co -dot- uk> wrote:
> >
> > Surely the GIS machine should have been designed so that controllers
> > couldn't call down airstrikes on themselves.
> >
> > We're talking about a real time, high-stress and high-fatigue situation
and
> > a design that's the equivalent of having the rifle muzzle swing around
to
> > point at the user every time the magazine empties.
> >
> > If you were documenting the device in question, how would you highlight
this
> > potentially lethal feature so that you could sleep at night?
>
> First, I would fight like hell to have the device redesigned to be safer
for
> the user. Barring that, I would make damned sure they understood, in
training,
> how it worked and what the consequences of such a reset would be.
>
> The documentation would have the biggest Danger Warning I could put in it.
>
> (Oh, and I don't particularly appreciate the flippant responses some have
given
> this question. In my opinion, it's a serious writing/training/design
issue.
> This is one of those situation where you not doing your job
properly--leave
> your politics at the door when you take the job--can get people killed.
>
> How would you sleep then? Huh?)
>
> =====
> Tom Murrell
> mailto:tmurrell -at- columbus -dot- rr -dot- com
> Personal Web Page - http://home.columbus.rr.com/murrell/index.html
> Page Last Updated 03/14/02
> "Technical Writers: Writers who get paid a living wage."
>
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