Re: Knowledge Base Guidelines

[Tony Markos <ajmarkos -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

To all:

In my previous posting I mistakenly used
"lossey-gossey" instead of "loosey-goosey".  I
apoligize.

Tony Markos

--- Tony Markos <ajmarkos -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote:

> Nicole:
> 
> A ways back I asked members of this listserv what
> writing skills are.  The general consensus I got was
> that skill in structured writing is the most
> important
> thing.  I then did a fair amount of research on
> structured writing and asked the members on this
> listserv what it is.  That is were I ran into a big
> snag.  
> 
> Outside of some lossey-gossey sound bites and some
> document formatting considerations (a relatively
> minor
> thing), I was unable to identify any specific,
> concrete steps involved in structured writing.
> 
> The best definition of structured writing I got was
> from the man who is generally credited with having
> "invented" it, Charles Horn.  On the Infomapping web
> site (Infomapping is just a commercial
> implementation
> of structured writing), Horn states that, in the
> main,
> structured writing is really all about analysis.  
> 
> As someone very experienced in structured analysis,
> hearing that structured writing is really all about
> analysis really scrambles my mind.  Since it is
> relatively easy to identify the specific, concrete
> steps involved in structured analysis, I conclude
> that
> structured writing is - in the main - some sort of
> less rigorous adaptation of structured analysis. 
> 
> If you want your structured writing guidelines to be
> more than formatting standards/guidelines (again, a
> relatively minor thing) and lossey-gossey sound
> bites,
> then take it from Horn and focus your energies on
> techniques for properly structuring an analysis. 
> (Note: Such a focus will also naturally lead you to
> the best flow charting techniques and the best in
> usability.)
> 
> Tony Markos
> 
> 
> --- Nicole Bogdanovic <NICNRADI -at- shaw -dot- ca> wrote:
> 
> > Hello all,
> > 
> > I've been asked by our Support Team to help them
> set
> > up a new Knowledge Database and create guidelines
> > for writing/structuring articles. 
> > 
> > Does anyone have some experience in this area? Can
> > you send me some pointers about what works and
> what
> > doesn't, any recommended reading/resources, tips
> and
> > pitfalls, troubleshooting flowchats, etc? 
> > 
> > The intended audience is our software end-users
> > (municipal clerical staff mostly, with low to
> medium
> > technical knowledge/ability) and our purpose is to
> > help them problem solve on their own. 
> > 
> > Thanks in advance!
> > 
> > ~Nicole.
> > 
> 
> 
> 
> 		
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