Re: When do people consult documentation?

["Wayne J. Douglass" <wayned -at- VERITY -dot- COM>]

At 01:28 PM 1/16/97 -0800, Kim Keegan wrote:

>I included one question that asked them to rank in order 1-3 what they
would do if
>they had a question about how to use an application.  The choices were
(1)look in the manual; (2)use the on-line help; (3)ask someone else.
>
>Two-thirds would first ask someone else for help before consulting the
>application's documentation.

This would come as no surprise to anyone who has been in the technical
writing/training game for any length of time. Research has demonstrated this
again and again. It's not necessarily a criticism of documentation; people
simply prefer to talk to other people. I prefer it myself.


--Wayne Douglass

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