Re: Value of paper docs?

[Robert Plamondon <robert -at- PLAMONDON -dot- COM>]

Are you really interested only in the perceived value of printed manuals
for the INITIAL sale?  This is the "Value of manuals to fly-by-night
operators" research.

Companies that expect to remain in business should focus on the perceived
value of manuals for SUBSEQUENT sales.  Will the user buy version 2.0,
or is he so fed up with the "useless" product that he will flee to
the competition by purchasing a "competitive upgrade"?

Microsoft documentation is in something of a death spiral.  By focusing
first on baby-food manuals with little real content, they set themselves
up for the realization that useless manuals cost a lot more than no
manuals at all, while giving comparable performance.  There was also
a period where they bragged about being able to cut 90% out of their
manuals and get away with it.  Many people concluded that they should
do a 90% cut, too.

It's as if someone who weighted 1200 pounds became much healthier
with a 90% weight loss, causing many 150-pound readers to attempt
the same thing.

But I digress.  People who have not yet used a piece of software are
just guessing at the value of the documentation.  Later on, the TRUE
value of the documentation can be learned, though probably not from
a simple "put a dollar value on each piece of the product" sort of
question.


        -- Robert
--
Robert Plamondon, President/Managing Editor, High-Tech Technical Writing, Inc.
36475 Norton Creek Road * Blodgett * Oregon * 97326
robert -at- plamondon -dot- com * (541) 453-5841 * Fax: (541) 453-4139