Sunday, June 04, 2006
Documentation: a quick study in contrasts
Common complaints that I hear (and have made) about the documentation for consumer goods is that it's poorly written, incomplete, or both. This weekend, I encountered both bad and good examples of such documentation.
The bad was the manual for the multimeter that my father got as a birthday present. The manual was small (it could fit into a shirt pocket) and concise. But it was missing some key information. Specifically, a legend to explain which of the four symbols on the device represented AC current, DC current, DC flow, and resistance. The last item was easy -- anyone with a sketchy knowledge of electronics or physics probably knows that one. The other three symbols, though, left my father scratching his head. Only after a lot of trial and error experimentation did he figure things out. But good (or just decent) documentation is supposed to ensure that you don't go through that trial and error process; or, at the very least minimizes it.
Contrast that with the user guide for the floor fan that I bought. The manual was larger and longer, but it contained all the information that I needed. It even included the legend that was missing from the manual for the multimeter. After quickly skimming through the manual, I got the fan running in practically no time.
Admittedly, a multimeter and a fan have different user bases. But in some cases, such as that of the multimeter, not everyone who uses a device is going to be an expert in the field to which the device caters. You can assume some prior knowledge, but including certain bits of information (like a legend) can greatly help those without the expected expertise or whose knowledge has faded due to lack of use. Good consumer documentation can do both without talking down to the user.
The bad was the manual for the multimeter that my father got as a birthday present. The manual was small (it could fit into a shirt pocket) and concise. But it was missing some key information. Specifically, a legend to explain which of the four symbols on the device represented AC current, DC current, DC flow, and resistance. The last item was easy -- anyone with a sketchy knowledge of electronics or physics probably knows that one. The other three symbols, though, left my father scratching his head. Only after a lot of trial and error experimentation did he figure things out. But good (or just decent) documentation is supposed to ensure that you don't go through that trial and error process; or, at the very least minimizes it.
Contrast that with the user guide for the floor fan that I bought. The manual was larger and longer, but it contained all the information that I needed. It even included the legend that was missing from the manual for the multimeter. After quickly skimming through the manual, I got the fan running in practically no time.
Admittedly, a multimeter and a fan have different user bases. But in some cases, such as that of the multimeter, not everyone who uses a device is going to be an expert in the field to which the device caters. You can assume some prior knowledge, but including certain bits of information (like a legend) can greatly help those without the expected expertise or whose knowledge has faded due to lack of use. Good consumer documentation can do both without talking down to the user.
