Re: Writers of user manuals: going the way of the dodo?

["Susan W. Gallagher" <sgallagher -at- STARBASECORP -dot- COM>]

From Peggy Thompson...

>  We're all agreed, I think, that movement is away from the clunky
>  user manuals of old (five yrs ago, I was writing ring-bound
>  manuals that were two inches thick) toward more streamlined
>  documentation and online help. I read somewhere that as systems
>  improve further still (don't snicker), even the clamor for
>  online help will recede.

>  Well, that may be greatly oversimplifying the case, but the
>  principle is true: users want intuitive systems, not systems
>  supported by reams of paper or screens full of online help.

>  Where does the writer of computer instruction fit into this
>  future of receding words?

Ok, I'll jump in on this one...   ;-)

Whether we communicate via a 2" thick paper manual, an online
help file, or directly through the user interface, we, as
technical communicators, can still play an important role in
communicating the software's purpose to the user. We've spent
a lot of time learning how to communicate and analysing our
audience. The information that we hold is invaluable to the
development process as a whole.

Our skills will evolve over time. Just as we have evolved
away from the 2" paper manual toward more concise paper
materials and extremely concise online information, we'll
move toward using graphics, prompts, and widget labels to
communicate to the user.

As the product and the audience demand fewer and fewer
words, we, the communication experts, will have the skills
to make every single one of those words count.

And now I'll extinguish my torch and rejoin the teaming
masses.  ;-)

Sue Gallagher
sgallagher -at- starbasecorp -dot- com