Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Can they both be right? Darren's right about user manuals being more utilitarian, and they certainly should not be left in the hands of professional prevaricators. The content and presentation are too important. User manuals.... A great post from Kathy: Why marketing should make the user manuals!. Update: Darren disagrees. Can I propose a team effort?... [Seth's Blog] However, technical documentation doesn't have to be dull and ugly. True, the iPod requires almost no documentation, but when Apple does a manual it's on slick paper, looks visually appealing, succinct and to the point, with a dash of humor. And I know instances when sales people will use product documentation as sales collateral, to let customers know in more detail what they're in for. So there is value in producing appealing and accurate documentation. A little design sense can accomplish that without letting marketing get their hands on it, tho. 9:04:36 PM    Questions? Comments? Flames? []

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