RE: Software Manuals

["Johnson, Joyce" <JJohnson -at- abc-sg -dot- com>]

Thanks for your input.  Here goes with some specific information:

The application is used with automated pharmacy dispensing hardware.
Typical users are nurses, pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians.  These
people want to know how to do a variety of specific tasks, from
dispensing to returning items to stock. 

And the main discussion we are having is as follows.  One side believes
that online help is sufficient to assist users with the software, and
that printing the online help and adding an introduction will suffice
for a software manual. There will be no screen captures in this
deliverable.  The other camp is in favor of producing a software manual
with appropriate screen captures - that is, when they are necessary to
provide users a look at where to find something, how to complete a task,
what happens when you click an option, etc.  

I appreciate your willingness to share your ideas on this issue.

Joyce

-----Original Message-----
From: Caroline Tabach [mailto:caroline -dot- tabach -at- gmail -dot- com] 
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2007 4:20 AM
To: Johnson, Joyce
Cc: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: Software Manuals

Isn't "It depends" a great answer?
Anyway, it depends what the book is for?
What do the people want to know?
As others said, who is the audience.
The people for whom the book is intended have to get enough information
to do whatever tasks they have to do using the software.
If this can be made cleared with screen shots and often if this is an
application with a GUI, then screen shots are definitely allowed and
often useful.

Online help is a different issue.
While it could be useful, it works differently, a book is lineal, online
help is not. People have different working patterns too.
If you are writing in a single sourcing application, then generally
there should not be a problem to provide a PDF file as well as online
help.

If you can give some more details, I am sure that you will get answers
that could be more helpful.

On 7/17/07, Johnson, Joyce <JJohnson -at- abc-sg -dot- com> wrote:
> Hi All -
>
> What should be included in a software manual?
>
> This may seem like a simple question, but a colleague of mine has a 
> very different opinion than mine on exactly what the contents of a 
> software manual should include, so I'm asking the experts.
>
> How do you feel about screen captures in a software manual? Are they 
> essential or can you do without them?
>
> Do you think online help can replace a software manual?
>
> Thanks for your help!
> Joyce
>
>
>
> Joyce Johnson
> Lead Technical Writer
> AmerisourceBergen Solutions Group
> 875 Woodlands Parkway
> Vernon Hills, IL  60061
> 847/808-5875
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> --
Caroline Tabach
Technical Writer
e-mail: caroline -dot- tabach -at- gmail -dot- com


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