TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:RE: Do I have to understand the material? From:"Jane Carnall" <jane -dot- carnall -at- digitalbridges -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 22 Aug 2002 14:38:38 +0100
----------------------------
Allen wrote:
ILM gets end users in to test their games and see if odd-ball key strokes
cause failure or if there are confusing parts of the game that the end user
just doesn't get. If they can do this, why can't the rest of the tech
industry?
----------------------------
Sean Hower:
The gaming industry is known for its GREAT manuals and online help,
combining both creativity and really useful info. I've read dozens of post
mortems for many different games. The most successful went through rigerous
user testing, the least successful were laden with problems and never saw a
user until the product hit the market....mmmmm you'd think that would be
enough evidence......
----------------------------
It kind of proves that it's not evidence that's needed, it's willpower. The
gaming industry has to provide great manuals/online help/rigorous
user-testing, because people play games for fun. If it's not fun to play a
game, word gets around and people don't buy it.
Whereas most other software, people buy it WITHOUT the expectation that
it'll be fun to use - they buy it because they need it (or think they do).
Because the software industry CAN get away without providing manuals, online
help, and user testing of the quality required by the games market, it does.
This is not an attack on my fellow technical writers - I think most of us
would LOVE to be able to provide that level of quality.
My cynical two cents...
Jane Carnall
The word stifle is an anagram of itself.
Unless stated otherwise, these opinions are mine, and mine alone. Apologies
for the long additional sig: it is added automatically and outwith my
control. Home: hj -dot- carnall -at- virgin -dot- net
E-mail is an informal method of communication and may be subject to data corruption, interception and unauthorised amendment for which Digital Bridges Ltd will accept no liability. Therefore, it will normally be inappropriate to rely on information contained on e-mail without obtaining written confirmation.
This e-mail may contain confidential and/or privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient (or have received this e-mail in error) please notify the sender immediately and destroy this e-mail. Any unauthorized copying, disclosure or distribution of the material in this e-mail is strictly forbidden.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Check out the new release of RoboDemo, our easy-to-use tutorial software.
Plus, buy RoboHelp Office in August and save $100 with our mail-in rebate.
Get details and download free trial versions at http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l
---
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.
