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: use cases - what are they good for From:"Neumann, Eileen" <ENeuman -at- franklintempleton -dot- ca> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Mon, 17 Jan 2005 10:04:18 -0500
The question I had wasn't - Do I need to know how users use the system (I'm not documenting a 'product'), and what are their goals?
The question was - Would a formal methodology called 'use cases' be an effective tool for my situation?
To this question, the answer seems to be no.
I like to think I'm a valuable asset anyway.
Eileen Neumann
Business Rules and Procedures
-----Original Message-----
From: TechComm Dood [mailto:techcommdood -at- gmail -dot- com]
Sent: Sunday, January 16, 2005 2:47 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Cc: TECHWR-L
Subject: Re: use cases - what are they good for
If you can author procedures without knowing in what cases the users
will be using the product, then you're an extremely valuable asset to
the world of technical documentation! ;-)
On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 10:52:42 -0500, Neumann, Eileen
<ENeuman -at- franklintempleton -dot- ca> wrote:
>
> Does anyone use 'use cases' to develop / write procedures? I've been investigating this topic, and it seems that use cases are very good for explaining how various systems and / or people interact. However, I'm thinking that they are not going to be of use to my type of documentation. I am writing a user guide for processors in a financial institution - basically giving them instructions on how to perform various tasks on a large database. The goal is having easy to understand task based instructions. The procedure is written from a processor's point of view.
Notice: All email and instant messages (including attachments) sent to
or from Franklin Templeton Investments (FTI) personnel may be retained,
monitored and/or reviewed by FTI and its agents, or authorized
law enforcement personnel, without further notice or consent.
WEBWORKS FINALDRAFT - EDIT AND REVIEW, REDEFINED
Accelerate the document lifecycle with full online discussions and unique feedback-management capabilities. Unlimited, efficient reviews for Word
and FrameMaker authors. Live, online demo: http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
Technical Communication Certificate online - Malaspina-University College, Canada. Online training in technical writing, software (FrameMaker, RoboHelp, Dreamweaver, Acrobat), document & web design, writing manuals, job search. www.pr.mala.bc.ca/tech_comm.htm for details.
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.