Re: Writing procedures that aren't so straightforward

[Janice Gelb <janice -dot- gelb -at- sun -dot- com>]

Julia Norquist wrote:
> 
> I am writing a guide for people who will use our
> software on handheld computers, such as Pocket PCs. An
> administrator will set up the software according to
> how their company operates, and these settings will
> affect what the end user sees on his screen. After
> logging in, he may see a screen that will ask for an
> additional password. He will proceed through a series
> of screens, but the path is not linear. He might do A,
> B, C, D, then E. He might do A, skip B, do C and D,
> and skip E. He might skip A, do B and C, do B again,
> and so on.
> 
> I can't split the tasks into a dozen or so
> permutations, as in, "If your company does A and B,
> and you have permission to do X but not Y, then do
> this. If your company only does A, but you have
> permission to do X, Y, and Z, then do that." The guide
> would be huge.
> 

Really hard to answer this without more details
about the product and what A, B, X, and Y are...

Is there any way to categorize the different
activities not in a linear way but in a way that
describes the purpose ("To Use the Remote Email
Retrieval Screen")? Or is there a way to describe
standard installations so you can categorize different
possible setups ("To Login With User-Only Permissions"
"To Login With Administrative Permissions")?

If not, unfortunately the best thing might indeed be
to insert lots of cross-references and have your doc
be a flipbook.

Best of luck!

-- Janice

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