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Subject:RE: The Works From:"Margaret Cekis" <Margaret -dot- Cekis -at- comcast -dot- net> To:"'Becca'" <becca -at- di -dot- org>, "'tech2wr-l'" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Tue, 14 Aug 2012 23:07:13 -0400
Becca talked about : ... "documenting the interface to a fairly involved
database. There will be 2, maybe 3 groups of users, none of whom can know
anything about the other groups. When the person who is creating the
database and the interfaces pitched the idea of documentation to his
end-cllients, they got all excited, and now say they want "the works" - help
files, PDFs, and what ever else I can think of that would be useful. (I am
under an NDA so I can't talk more about the end product.)
I figure separate help files for each user group, and printable reference
manuals, but other than that, I'm not sure what "the works" entails. Any
suggestions, please, for additional documentation that would be useful?
_______________________________
Becca:
The only think I might suggest is a small "Quick reference card" type doc
with a list of the commands or common search terms or SQL queries that the
users would be using to access the info in the database. It's simple and
"old tech" that is often appreciated by new users of a complex application.
They can keep their reference card handy, and only have to go to the doc or
the help for more complex things after they learn the basics on the card.
Margaret Cekis, Johns Creek GA
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