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Introduction. Presenter: Matthew Howse Date: 9/23/08 Article: "Adding Life to Your Documentation" Author: Whitney Beth Potsus. Overview. Ever get caught in a writers block Doing the same thing day in and day out How to get past writers block and keep the readers attention. N- list.
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Introduction Presenter: Matthew Howse Date: 9/23/08 Article: "Adding Life to Your Documentation" Author: Whitney Beth Potsus
Overview • Ever get caught in a writers block • Doing the same thing day in and day out • How to get past writers block and keep the readers attention.
N- list N- list, no more that 15 main points keep it brief • Can be links off the 15 main points • K.I.S.S. keep it simple stupid. • “The Least You Need to Know” Lists
Use to-do Lists, Recipes, Checklists. Described as shopping list documentation • Having everything you need before you follow a procedure. • Checklist what to do before the next step. • Great for assemblies, installation, and procedural directions.
“The least you need to know” lists. Giving you the bare minimum of the topic • Not very in-depth • Just good enough for a basic understanding
Telling the users what they’re supposed to do. Very technical, usually wanting the user to do something. • Best/Common Practices • Well written can be very good • Poorly written can result in 9 support calls per month
Graphics Charts, Graphs, tables, and pictures. • Good for comparing objects • Good to grab the reader, more likely to read the article • Making it quick and easy
Quizes and other self-tests Self explanatory way of explaining getting you’re point across. • Easy/hard • Long/short • Fun/serrous • Useful in training classes
Conclusion • Main points • “What matters is that they read and felt that they walked away with enough knowledge to be immediately productive.” • Catching the readers attention and holding it. • Effective and fast ways to get your point across. ??Questions??