Brad Mehlenbacher
North Carolina State University
Myths About Documentation
Myth 1: Nobody Reads Documentation
Myth 2: Humans Use Documentation Poorly
Myth 3: Transparent Interfaces Will Eventually Eliminate the Need for Documentation
Documentation Is Difficult
Defining Documentation
Audience Knowledge and Attributes
Task Types and Activities
Information Goals and Documentation
Physical and Rhetorical Differences in Media
Documentation Genres and Information Types
Developing Documentation
Challenges in Documentation: Information Futures
Fusing Systems and Documentation Development
Bringing Information to the Digital Surface
Developers, Users, and Information Flow
Challenges in Documentation: Back From the Future
References
Appendix: Usability Principles for Documentation Design
Figure 27.1: Screen capture of popular commercial word processing interface—functionality vs. user friendliness?