RE: Studies relating to documentation density and getting the user to read the manuals

["Dan Goldstein" <DGoldstein -at- riverainmedical -dot- com>]

Dear Doc Doc,

Does the client already know that the users "skim, skip steps, and get
into a mess"? I think that's the best support for your position.

Corollary 1: Even if you improve the documentation by cutting out the
excess, there's no guarantee that the users will read it.

Corollary 2: Even if the users are incorrigible, it's worth it to
improve the documentation.

Happy Tuesday,

Dan

> -----Original Message-----
> From: The Documentation Doctor
> Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 4:59 AM
> To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: Studies relating to documentation density and 
> getting the user to read the manuals
> 
> I'm hoping I can tap your collective wisdom.
> 
> A client has the common problem that users don't read the 
> installation manuals.
> 
> Historically, the response has been to beef up the 
> installation manuals with big warning boxes highlighting the 
> importance of particular steps; so much so that the warnings 
> duplicate about 30% of the procedure. In addition, to make 
> the manuals more friendly, each and every dialogue box and 
> message is documented and illustrated. Even so, users still 
> tend to skim, skip steps and get into a mess.
> 
>  My contention is that users are more likely to read 
> documentation that is terse and does not contain redundant 
> information, and that a single "Follow the steps or suffer 
> the consequences" warning will suffice.
> 
> So, what I'd be grateful for would be links to any studies 
> that I could cite in order to support (or invalidate!) my position.
> 

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