On 11/8/06, Tom Johnson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Perhaps Milan is correct, to some degree, that outside the context of use we > can't fully judge the quality of a manual. BUT, our job as technical > communicators includes something called audience analysis.
Audience analysis helps you build the document, and maybe allows you to make some predictions about how the document will perform in use, but it doesn't tell you how the document actually *does* perform. > Beyond that, judges can, and do, > spot good points and bad points that are independent of the audience/context > where the document is used. True. And based on the audience analysis we can make some predictions as to whether those things make much of a difference to the performance of the document. But again, it's not real data. > Nothing is perfect. Learn what you can from the exercise and keep > moving forward. Right -- if you can get something from it that looks useful, and if it turns out to actually be useful, that's good. Certainly, if you get good, experienced judges your chances of this are increased. If, if, if... -- Milan Davidovic http://altmilan.blogspot.com http://www.terminus1525.ca/studio/view/2758 _______________________________________________ Are you a Help Authoring Trainer or Consultant? Let clients find you at www.HAT.Matrix.com, the searchable HAT database based on Char James-Tanny's HAT Comparison Matrix. Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] for details. Interested in Interactive 3D Documentation? Get the scoop at http://www.doc-u-motion.com Your 3D Documentation Community. _______________________________________________ Technical Communication Professionals To post a message to the list, send an email to [email protected] To find out more about the list, including archives and your account options, visit http://techcommpros.com/mailman/listinfo/tcp_techcommpros.com If you need assistance with the list, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
