http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1892 OVERVIEWMany organizations produce in-house tools or modify commercially-available tools for their own use. These tools should get documented so they are of use to others in the organization.If this documentation is not created or is poorly written, it costs you twice:* The first cost (attributed to any poor user document) is the cost of answering the Users' questions (technical support).* The second cost, arises from the lost time of your employees trying to... Sun, 24 May 2009 11:57:14 PST en-us http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1892 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1892 Sun, 24 May 2009 11:57:14 PST OVERVIEWPeople are visual creatures. They look at your product, and see, for example, a button or display. They want to find out about that control or indicator. A Visual Index is a simple but powerful document access tool that enables your Readers to find the information that they want.This article describes the Visual Index concept and tells how to create one for your document.A VISUAL INDEXA Visual Index is a picture of your product or process with links to... http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1408 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1408 Sun, 24 May 2009 11:57:03 PST As a writer for hire, do you accept every job that comes along or do you have definitive and concrete standards? http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1273 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1273 Sun, 24 May 2009 11:20:17 PST OVERVIEWFor small companies, creating their product's User Documentation in-house, provides benefits to the company, to (idle) staff, and to the product. This article describes the benefits and some downsides of producing User Documents in-house.THREE OPTIONSIf you have no in-house writing staff you have three options:1. No User Document for the product. This is NOT a valid option. Every product needs User Documentation. It completes your product package, an... http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1452 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1452 Sun, 24 May 2009 11:57:04 PST OverviewIncomplete User Documents disappoint your Readers. Two attitudes of many Technical Writers result in incomplete User Documents. These two attitudes are:. "Everyone Knows That", and. "The User Can Figure It Out"This article describes these attitudes and presents methods for overcoming them. The result is more effective User Documents and more satisfied Users.1. "Everyone Knows That"The "Everyone Knows That" attitude makes assumptions about your ... http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1556 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1556 Sun, 24 May 2009 11:57:06 PST OVERVIEWSearches in User Documents (manuals, etc.) often fail because the Reader uses different words for a concept than the author uses. Since the Reader's words do not appear in the document, the document search mechanism cannot find them, resulting in frustration. This article describes a User-friendly technique for improving searches, without having to change the Users' behavior or the search software.YOUR READERS' WORDSPeople use the words that they know whe... http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1558 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1558 Sun, 24 May 2009 11:57:06 PST OVERVIEWMost product documentation sounds like their product is the only thing in the User's life. Such thinking results in User confusion and dissatisfaction. This article presents three real-life examples of this attitude, and what should be done to remedy these unfortunate situations. The article concludes with some techniques for the writer.BACKGROUNDThere are two important facts that User Documentation ignores:1. Your product is a only minor item in your ... http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1559 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1559 Sun, 24 May 2009 11:57:06 PST OverviewOur humdrum, sterile headings and writing manner do little to encourage our Users to read parts of the product documentation that would be especially beneficial for them. This article presents two real-world examples, how they fail their users, and how to correct the problems.Not the Legal & DisclaimersAlthough the Legal and Disclaimer sections of your documentation are important for the protection of your company (and protection of your company should be ... http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1560 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1560 Sun, 24 May 2009 11:57:06 PST OVERVIEWStop confusing your Reader with the words you use. Your Reader is trying his/her best to understand how your product works without having to figure out your writing. Here are some writing guidelines to help you stop baffling your Reader.SAME CONCEPT: SAME WORDSUser Documents are not meant to be entertaining. Do not try to be creative, especially by using synonyms for specific concepts in your product. When you talk about a topic use the exact same wording ... http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1700 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1700 Sun, 24 May 2009 11:57:10 PST OVERVIEWA good User Document includes sections on how to set up, use, and care for the product. However, to create a great User Document , the technical writer should use the Persona, generated in the analysis of the User/Reader, to create the topics for the most useful section of the User Document. This article describes this procedure.THE MOST USEFUL SECTION OF A USER DOCUMENTThe most useful section of a User Document is the one that helps the User get what he... http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1985 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1985 Sun, 24 May 2009 11:59:35 PST