Tag Archives: user assistance

User Confidence and Topic-Based Writing

Recently, I suggested that the move to topic based documentation should be understood as a move away from the textbook model of documentation towards a user assistance model. This move reflects a change in priorities, putting more emphasis on readers who want to learn and less on those who want to be taught. But can… Read More »

Topics are About User Assistance

Many discussions of the advantages or disadvantages of topic-based documentation seem to neglect the different view of the user that is inherent in the move from the traditional textbook style manual to standalone topics. Topics are not simply a new mechanism for composing and constructing documents, nor are they simply about enabling reuse, or about… Read More »