TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
It's not tracked like "we know who you are and we'll visit you at home one
dark and cold night". It's tracked like usage statistics, searches, keywords
and so on. You can see what users are looking for, where they are going in
the help to find it, what aren't they finding, where do they spend time in
the help docs, what do they never ever look at, and that sort of stuff.
The users never know it's happening and it's completely non-intrusive.
If you're interested, go look at MadCap's site or call the sales desk and
talk to them. It's an amazing product that helps you find out what your
users are doing, as tho you were looking over their shoulder while they use
the help.
sharon
Sharon Burton
MadCap Software Product Consultant
Managing your content, one topic at a time
www.anthrobytes.com
951-369-8590
IM: sharonvburton -at- yahoo -dot- com
Twitter: sharonburton
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+sharon=anthrobytes -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+sharon=anthrobytes -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
Behalf Of Robert Lauriston
Sent: Thursday, September 24, 2009 12:49 PM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: Follow-up to question about getting feedback from users
I'm skeptical that many users would allow their activities to be tracked.
At my old job, we had a feedback email link at the bottom of each page
(which automatically included the product and topic ID in the subject
line), but we got very few responses, maybe one or two a month despite
having tens of thousands of users.
On Thu, Sep 24, 2009 at 12:41 PM, Sharon Burton <sharon -at- anthrobytes -dot- com>
wrote:
> +++I work part time for MadCap++++
>
> If you use MadCap's products, they have a product called Feedback that
will invisibly track what the users are doing in the help and would answer
many of your questions. I think it's one of the most useful products they
make.
>
>
> sharon
>
> Sharon Burton
> MadCap Software Product Consultant
> Managing your content, one topic at a time
> www.anthrobytes.com
> 951-369-8590
> IM: sharonvburton -at- yahoo -dot- com
> Twitter: sharonburton
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: techwr-l-bounces+sharon=anthrobytes -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+sharon=anthrobytes -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
Behalf Of Donna Marino
> Sent: Thursday, September 24, 2009 12:34 PM
> To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: Follow-up to question about getting feedback from users
>
> As a follow-up to my last posting, here are the questions I'm asking users
about the online help I've developed. Am I missing anything important?
>
> 1. How long have you been using <client's application>?
> 2. Do you use the online help?
> a. If you are a new user, does the online help assist you in learning
more about how the product works?
> b. If you are an experienced user, does the help provide any
additional insights?
> 3. When do you use the online help?
> 4. How frequently do you consult the online help?
> 5. Is the help easy to access when you need it?
> 6. How do you use the online help? For example, do you browse the
table of contents, search the index, click the Help link when you?re on a
particular screen, etc.?
> 7. Do you find the answers you need when you consult the online help?
> 8. Do you find the help text easy to understand?
> 9. If others have questions about <client's application>, do you
refer them to the online help?
> 10. Do you have any suggestions for improving the help?
>
> Thanks, again.
> Donna
>
>
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> Free Software Documentation Project Web Cast: Covers developing Table of
> Contents, Context IDs, and Index, as well as Doc-To-Help
> 2009 tips, tricks, and best practices.
>http://www.doctohelp.com/SuperPages/Webcasts/
>
> Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
> authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
> once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/
>
> ---
> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as robert -at- lauriston -dot- com -dot-
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/robert%40lauriston.com
>
>
> To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>
> Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
>http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.
>
> Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
>http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat
>
>
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Free Software Documentation Project Web Cast: Covers developing Table of
Contents, Context IDs, and Index, as well as Doc-To-Help
2009 tips, tricks, and best practices. http://www.doctohelp.com/SuperPages/Webcasts/
Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as sharon -at- anthrobytes -dot- com -dot-
Free Software Documentation Project Web Cast: Covers developing Table of
Contents, Context IDs, and Index, as well as Doc-To-Help
2009 tips, tricks, and best practices. http://www.doctohelp.com/SuperPages/Webcasts/
Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-
