atw: Re: Should we always give users what they ask for?
- From: Janice Gelb <Janice.Gelb@xxxxxxx>
- To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:27:48 +1100
On 9/03/09 11:58 AM, Geoffrey Marnell wrote:
Janice, methinks you are still skirting the issue. You haven't mentioned
comprehension (or understandability) once in your postings. Is this one of
the factors you would consider in choosing a delivery medium? If so, does it
rank higher than user preference?
Yes, we don't much listen to our readers' preferences. There I agree with
you. But some commentators are saying that we should listem to them, and
thus the point of my posting. Assuming that we should listen to our readers,
how persuaded should we by their preferences to adopt their preferred
delivery medium?
As I said previously, user preference is just one factor.
Some people comprehend and retain information better if
they hear it than if they read it. Other people learn
better from visuals than from reading. Still other people
comprehend and retain information best when they read it.
Therefore, I think that deciding on a delivery mechanism
solely based on one group's declaration that a particular
medium is best for comprehension would be a mistake. Certainly
deciding that because younger people are more familiar with
multimedia delivery of information than their elders that
therefore all information should start to be delivered that
way doesn't seem responsible to me.
To me, a logical structure and clear writing are the most
important factors in user comprehension regardless of the
medium you choose to deliver the information. And as I said
previously, many factors should be taken into account by
technical communicators when deciding on a documentation
delivery mechanism, including the nature of the product
being documented, the conditions under which the documentation
will be most commonly used, the experience and literacy level
of users, and so on.
-- Janice
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Janice Gelb | The only connection Sun has with
janice.gelb@xxxxxxx | this message is the return address
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