Comments on: Undiscovered Instructions Aren’t Much Good http://www.gryphonmountain.net/2009/11/undiscovered-instructions-arent-much-good/ Technical Communication and Other Writing Topics (by Ben Minson) Mon, 6 Sep 2010 20:49:16 -0500 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Ben http://www.gryphonmountain.net/2009/11/undiscovered-instructions-arent-much-good/comment-page-1/#comment-39652 Ben Thu, 03 Dec 2009 01:55:56 +0000 http://www.gryphonmountain.net/?p=788#comment-39652 Not yet. But I received a nice email from a user today thanking me for a helpful response to a problem he reported. I think I emailed him a couple of days ago, so maybe I'll hear from this other person by the end of the week. Not yet. But I received a nice email from a user today thanking me for a helpful response to a problem he reported. I think I emailed him a couple of days ago, so maybe I’ll hear from this other person by the end of the week.

]]> By: Craig http://www.gryphonmountain.net/2009/11/undiscovered-instructions-arent-much-good/comment-page-1/#comment-39593 Craig Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:41:51 +0000 http://www.gryphonmountain.net/?p=788#comment-39593 Did the guy respond to your question about where he looked for the instructions? Did the guy respond to your question about where he looked for the instructions?

]]> By: Larry Kunz http://www.gryphonmountain.net/2009/11/undiscovered-instructions-arent-much-good/comment-page-1/#comment-39511 Larry Kunz Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:06:39 +0000 http://www.gryphonmountain.net/?p=788#comment-39511 You raise a good point, Ben. The classic example is the 1980s setup brochure that went something like this: Open the box and remove the packing materials. There you will find this brochure. At the dawn of the 2010s our users are looking for documentation in more and more places -- search engines, wikis, and even traditional places like manuals and online help. If they can't find it right away they'll be less inclined to keep looking. Our challenge as technical communicators will be to anticipate all of the places they'll come looking and to make sure that the documentation is there when they arrive. You raise a good point, Ben. The classic example is the 1980s setup brochure that went something like this: Open the box and remove the packing materials. There you will find this brochure.

At the dawn of the 2010s our users are looking for documentation in more and more places — search engines, wikis, and even traditional places like manuals and online help. If they can’t find it right away they’ll be less inclined to keep looking. Our challenge as technical communicators will be to anticipate all of the places they’ll come looking and to make sure that the documentation is there when they arrive.

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