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Subject:On-line Documentation vs Training Materials From:Annalee Foster <scripta -at- GJ -dot- NET> Date:Mon, 15 Sep 1997 11:03:43 -0600
Hi all...
I currently provide all service/installation manuals for our field
engineers (international and domestic), along with upgrade procedures
and all field communication. We currently manufacture 5 products, each
of which has a 200+ page manual, in addition to drawings and schematics.
At the moment, the manuals are all-purpose, meaning they are not only
used for service and installation, but also provide a background for
training courses. The documents are not currently written to accomplish
any of these tasks well, primarily because they try to do too much by
themselves (IMHO).
To complicate this further, I have many requests to replace our paper
docs with online documentation. The current materials are cumbersome
(to say the least) and difficult for the FE's to lug around with them.
They travel 50 to 80% of the time. I've been resisting the idea to
simply dump the manuals onto a CD ROM and send them out because it seems
like a bandaid solution that will, in the end, provide only minimal
benefit to the field. I'd like to develop our documentation in on-line
format, but don't know if everything can be included... For the most
part, everything refers back to a standard set of procedures (until you
get to trouble shooting).
How do I make this documentation work best for the field? Is there a
reasonable solution that will provide installation, service and training
in one document that can be developed for on-line use? Is there a
conference (or courses) I can attend to see different solutions in
action?
I am the only technical writer here, and feel like I am facing a
monumental task.
I appreciate your input!
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