Re: Minimalism

Subject: Re: Minimalism
From: Stuart Burnfield <slb -at- FS -dot- COM -dot- AU>
Date: Wed, 22 Jan 1997 14:35:28 +0800

Robert Plamondon <robert -at- PLAMONDON -dot- COM> said:
> The fake school of minimalism just cuts the documentation to some
> arbitrary length. One can always cut one's documentation 90% by
> simply dropping 90% of the material on the floor and leaving the
> readers in the lurch.
>
> The real school of minimalism does more with less. Express the basic
> concepts clearly, itemize all the building blocks, give a couple of
> examples of how they can be put together, and stop.

Just to expand on this, minimalism doesn't necessarily mean small.
I believe it means something like "the right information delivered
in the right way at the right time."

A minimalist documentation set could be larger than the manuals it
replaces. It probably won't be, but it could be.

Regards
---
Stuart Burnfield (slb -at- fs -dot- com -dot- au) Voice: +61 9 328 8288
Senior Stunt Borg
Functional Software Pty Ltd Fax: +61 9 328 8616

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