Re: One step per action

[Bill Burns <WBURNS -at- VAX -dot- MICRON -dot- COM>]

Robert Plamondon replied to my posting:

>>What do you mean, "put the effect before the cause?"  I'm removing
the eighteen screws so I can take the head off.  I don't give a damn
about the screws themselves.  They aren't a causative factor; they
are a fiddling, unimportant, boring, trivial detail, instantly
forgotten once the head is off and I can proceed with my actual work.

If you're concerned about alienating experienced audiences and if they only
need to have the major steps, then how about deleting the "fiddling,
unimportant, boring, trivial detail" altogether?

        1.  Remove the head.

        2.  Remove the gasket.

If these details aren't important or trivial, why include them at all?
I'd argue that for some audiences, these trivial details aren't at all
trivial.  I also don't think that putting the actual operation before the
end result makes sense.  If the experienced users don't need the same level of
detail that the inexperienced users do, the finely detailed information can
be subordinated under the major steps.  In this case, the details aren't
numerous enough to warrant that approach.

Focusing on goals is one tactic.  It's not the only tactic, nor is it always
self-explanatory.

Bill Burns                            *
Assm. Technical Writer/Editor         * LIBERTY, n. One of imagination's most
Micron Technology, Inc.               * precious possessions.
Boise, ID                             *
WBURNS -at- VAX -dot- MICRON -dot- COM                 *                     Ambrose Bierce