Re: Most illogical documentation

["Edwin Skau" <eddy -dot- skau -at- gmail -dot- com>]

One of my writers once wrote the documentation for a service management
system (IN) in the telecom domain. Installing the system was a complicated
and cumbersome affair, and it took a little over a couple of months before
we had a procedure that worked fairly successfully.

The engineering manager insisted that the installation procedure should be
included in online help.

We fought long and hard over the decision, and although the engineering
folks eventually agreed it was  not the smartest idea in the world,  they
decided to go that way.  We also shipped a PDF document.

So after you installed the service management system, you could go into
online help and read about how to do it right.

Edwin

P.S. And how about those trouble-shooting guides that just tell you to call
up tech support...?




On 6/30/07, Lauren <lt34 -at- csus -dot- edu> wrote:
>
> What part of the 143 pages did you find you find troublesome?  Oh, wait.
> Was it the 143 pages?  One of the IRS standards is "simpler forms."  Maybe
> a
> standard should be simpler instructions.
>
> Lauren
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: techwr-l-bounces+lt34=csus -dot- edu -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> > [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+lt34=csus -dot- edu -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
> > Behalf Of Chris Borokowski
> > Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 2:30 PM
> > To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> > Subject: RE: Most illogical documentation
> >
> >
> > http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040.pdf
> >
> > The people who work there are often wonderful, but I sense some
> > invisible force of unspeakable evil crafted these instructions.
> >
> >
> >
> > http://technical-writing.dionysius.com/
> > technical writing | consulting | development
> >
> >
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or
> printed documentation. Features include support for Windows Vista & 2007
> Microsoft Office, team authoring, plus more.
> http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList
>
> True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
> Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
> documentation. Boost your productivity! http://www.helpandmanual.com
>
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or 
printed documentation. Features include support for Windows Vista & 2007 
Microsoft Office, team authoring, plus more.
http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList

True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
documentation. Boost your productivity! http://www.helpandmanual.com

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