1 / 12

Meet Your Technical Author: Alison Peck - Making Complex Software Understandable

Discover how Alison Peck, your dedicated technical author, navigates the intricate world of software documentation. With a passion for articulating complex concepts in simple terms, Alison uses a range of tools, including Notepad, Word, HTML Help, and more, to create useful manuals and online help. She works collaboratively on multiple projects and seeks your input to avoid missing deadlines. Whether you need user-facing information, proofreading, or assistance with software tools, Alison is here to support you in delivering clear and effective documentation.

ghada
Télécharger la présentation

Meet Your Technical Author: Alison Peck - Making Complex Software Understandable

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Introducing your Technical Author... Alison Peck

  2. What do YOU think I do? • Type the manuals? • Format documents? • Write the help?

  3. What do I think I do? I explain difficult concepts and complex software in a way that anyone (almost!) can understand

  4. How do I do that? I look at each component individually... …and as part of the bigger picture

  5. I use a variety of software products... Notepad HTML Help Word Access ForeHelp PaintShop Pro Front Page 1st Page 2000 PowerPoint Adobe Distiller …most will be familiar to you. Paint

  6. What do I need from you? I am often working on several projects at the same time… …if I don’t know what’s needed, I’m more likely to miss deadlines...

  7. ...so talk to me!

  8. It takes time to turn complex technical information into useful manuals, online help and training materials... …it takes time for you to explain, and for me to understand... …I am not a software developer, and that can be a great advantage, but it also means I may need to come back more than once...

  9. …that can be very frustrating for me... …and for you!

  10. How can I help YOU? • I can provide you with a user’s viewpoint for your graphical interface • I regularly proof-read material for the marking department and would be willing to extend the service - time permitting! • Trying to achieve something using Word, or PowerPoint, or Access…? I can probably help! • I also produce material for the Intranet in HTML and extract information from databases using ASP and PHP

  11. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

  12. And finally... Can you make this look pretty? We haven’t finished the software yet, but it should work like this...! Just type this up for me! Oh, I forgot to mention that another product will need some documentation - it’s going out this afternoon! OK, so installing our latest product stops all the others from working. Do you really think anyone will want to use them together? The instructions in the manual are wrong, it doesn’t work that way anymore. I changed it to make it better - didn’t you notice? We need to tell them not to do that, or their system will crash and they will lose all their data. Try not to make it sound like a serious problem. You know the 306 screen-shots you took? Well, we’ve changed the name of the product, and it appears on every one.

More Related