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Subject:Troubleshooting guide From:geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA Date:Mon, 26 May 1997 12:22:33 -0500
Kristy Astry wondered <<How do I convince my company that
creating/distributing/maintaining a troubleshooting guide
to our software is a good idea?>>
Do you have a telephone support or technical training
staff? Marketers or sales staff who regularly visit your
customers? If so, they can provide you with all the data
you'll need to demonstrate demand for the document... and
perhaps even to save lots of money on technical support
calls if your staff is spending lots of time fixing
problems that could be fixed with a simple printed guide. A
few "I'm switching to MSWord because they have a
troubleshooting sheet" quotes should have the desired
magical effect.
On another topic: if you really do need a troubleshooting
guide and your competitors don't, your product will be in
trouble soon (if it isn't already). This might be a great
opportunity for you to get onto the interface (etc.) design
team and act as a user advocate. Better to fix the problem,
rather than trying to document your way around it...
--Geoff Hart @8^{)} geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
Disclaimer: Speaking for myself, not FERIC.
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