Fundamental requirements for good user documentation have not changed over the years. Manuals must be complete, accurate, clear, readable, and available on time. What has changed are tolerances and standards. Today's users—typically business professionals but even expert technicians and engineers—will no longer accept unreadable and inaccessible publications. The days of documentation with poor organization, limited graphic support, and poor aesthetics have passed. This article analyzes users' opinions and preferences for microcomputer software documentation. The results provide valuable guidance for software authors, designers, and publishers.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
GrimmS., How to Write Computer Manuals for Users, Lifetime Learning Publications, 1984.
2.
McGeheeB. M., The Complete Guide to Writing Software User Manuals, Writer's Digest Books, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1984.
3.
McKayL., Softwords, Hardwords: A Common-Sense Guide to Creative Documentation, Ashton-Tate, Culver City, CA, 1984.
4.
PriceJ., How to Write a Computer Manual: A Handbook of Software Documentation, Benjamin Cummings, Menlo Park, CA, 1984.
5.
StuartA., Writing and Analyzing Effective Computer System Software, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, 1984.
6.
Documentation: The Paper Chase, PC Week, pp. 107–110, January 16, 1984.
HendersonT., Texas Instruments, private interview, Austin, TX, April, 1985.
9.
WeissE. H., How to Write a Usable User Manual, ISI Press, Philadelphia, PA, p. 8, 1985.
10.
WinklerV., Chair, American National Standards Committee—Information Systems, Technical Committee—Software Documentation, personal correspondence, May 7, 1985.
11.
Working Draft, Standard for Software User Documentation, Technical Committee on Software Engineering, IEEE Computer Society, November 12, 1985.
12.
SAS User's Guide: Basics, Version 5 Edition, SAS Institute Inc., Box 8000, Cary, NC 27511.
13.
PenroseJohn and SeifordLawrence M., Computer ‘Personalities’: A New Approach to Understanding User Compatibility, Journal of Business and Psychology, in press.
14.
PenroseJohn M.BowmanJoel, and FlatleyMarie, The Impact of Microcomputers on the Association for Business Communications with Recommendations for Teaching, Writing, and Research, Journal of Business Communication, in press.
15.
PenroseJohn and MullerDouglas, The Effects of Computer-Mediated Communication Systems on Writing, Journal of Applied Research, in press.
16.
PenroseJohn and MullerDouglas, A Qualitative Comparison of Three Microcomputer Business Letter Libraries, Journal of Business Communication, Spring, 1986.
17.
PenroseJohn and MullerDouglas, Telecommunications and its Relationship to Business Communication, Journal of Business Communication, Winter, 1984.
18.
PenroseJohn and MullerDouglas, Student and Recruiter Views of the Importance of Computer Science, Interface: The Computer Education Quarterly, Winter, 1983.
