Cyborg Analysis Discussion

I've pulled this discussion from a Facebook thread. Apologies.

It's been my experience that User Requirements are often overlooked. People are frequently spattered with some system for which they believe they have no use. I have seen this happen with SharePoint all too often. When, as a tech writer, I address their personal work needs, the "technology problems" slow down.

-- ?mmr

I think that's true. I guess, that makes for two distinct issues: First, that technology is built in a quasi-broken state because designers and developers think that the way to be useful is to prevent users from doing things that are "illegal" in the program. Which is nice, and it's a good thing that there are some safe guards, but it also means that users cannot innovate in their own workflows or ever become more productive than the designer expects them to be able to achieve, because the options aren't there. Second, that unless users are properly trained, and understand their tools and why they work in a particular way they'll experience the technology problems as problems.

I think we solve the first problem by communicating user needs to developers more clearly (better user stories, better/more open issue tracking, etc.) and also by entrusting technical writers and trainers to educate users on proper use (if the technical writer will ensure that people know how to operate tools in "legal" ways software doesn't need to strictly enforce legal operation in the same way. The second problem is resolved with good feedback, better documentation, and so forth (i.e the same way we've always done it.) And to clarify, about enforced legality, I'm thinking about the way that document styles are enforced versus compiler-type warnings or the way configuration options are hidden.

-- tychoish

Precisely! Developers often bury themselves in code, have little or no contact with users, and do not understand how their work affects real world functionality. It is indeed our job as tech writers to communicate their audience's needs. I've always played that liasion role.

-- ?mmr