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Subject:Re: minimal manuals From:Len Olszewski <saslpo -at- UNX -dot- SAS -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 18 May 1993 10:55:29 -0500
> Some literature on minimal manuals:
[...reference deleted...]
> Hope for more from others!
> Michael F. Steehouder
Here are a few more references not on Mr. Steehouder's list:
Gong, Richard. The Development of a Task_Oriented Minimal Content User's
Manual. SIGCHI Bulletin, Vol. 21, No. 3, p. 29.
Ramey, Judith. "How People Use Computer Documentation: Implications for
Book Design." In _Effective Documentation: What Have We Learned From
Research_. edited by Stephen doheny-Farina. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press,
1988.
Wurman, Richard Saul. _Information Anxiety_. NY: Doubleday, 1989.
Good luck. Pushing minimalism is a thankless job. Providing effective
minimal documentation implies that your product is well designed and
intuitive to use, and further, that your product developers coordinate
their design with yours. Even though minimalist documentation may be a
desirable approach in general, you may find it inappropriate or
impractical given your situation - but keep trying.
|Len Olszewski, Technical Writer | "The fish." |
|saslpo -at- unx -dot- sas -dot- com|Cary, NC, USA| -Salvador Dali |
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| Opinions this ludicrous are mine. Reasonable opinions will cost you.|
