Audience Analysis

[Jennifer Chiki <Jennifer -dot- Chiki -at- MARCAM -dot- COM>]

  Hello,

  I apologize if this has been a past discussion thread, but I haven't seen
  any postings on it recently.

  I am sure many of you can relate to my situation - I really have no idea
  WHO I am writing for.

  So, I am attempting to put together a proposal on how my development lab
  can obtain user feedback and audience analysis in order to improve our
  documentation and also improve writer confidence. We do have an existing
  product, but I don't want to limit this research solely to the usability
  of our existing product.
  I would like to develop some audience analysis tools such as a
  questionnaires, client site visits, customer interviews, job shadowing,
  etc., to determine just who are users are and what sort of documentation
  needs they have.

  If anyone can suggest any reading material, courses, or even past
  personal experiences on this subject I would really appreciate it. I know
  that last year's STC Annual Conference ran many sessions on this topic,
  but I would rather not have to wait until May 1997 to attend the STC
  Conference to receive this education.

  Has anyone tried anything like this? Did it work? Are questionnaires as
  useless as I've heard they are?

  Looking forward to your two cents!

  Jennifer
  ______________________________

  Jennifer Chiki
  Intermediate Technical Writer
  Marcam Canada Corporation
  jennifer -dot- chiki -at- marcam -dot- com

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