[Publib] Documentation and Dictators

[K.G. Schneider]

A few random thoughts: 

* Yes, I like good instructions, too. Actually, I REALLY like it when the
software makes it easy to figure out how to do basic stuff without reading
instructions. 

* Over-investing in print instructions tends not too work well for new web
technologies. Stuff changes so fast. Tip sheets and blog posts, or even
brief video, are more useful. 

* I hate juggling online documentation when I only have one monitor. I
generally find the pages I need and print them out. Once I was trying to
install our first network printer... and its instructions were on a CD...
major conundrum ;-)

* Speaking of which, one of the cheapest ways to improve worker productivity
is to provide two monitors. I had one admin type make a side comment a while
back about this being a "posh" setup and I pointed out that for an extra
couple hundred bucks, you could have not just one worker, but a worker amped
up an additional 9 to 40 percent, depending on the report you read. There
are some tasks that are massively laborious with one monitor and a breeze
with two. 

* One approach is to find some enthusiastic library staff, get them using a
new technology, and then ask them for a one-page tip sheet to guide you
through the most difficult issues. 

* We're implementing WordPress at my church, and I have found that nobody
needs instruction on how to write a post, even people why self-identify at
the lower end of the tech spectrum (once you log in, the button that says
"write a post" is a big clue, and from then on, you, well, write a post),
but the event calendar, useful as it is, is not self-explanatory for anyone,
and the concept of static pages needed some explanation even for those who
self-identified very high on the tech spectrum. Lesson here? Before
over-investing in documentation, find some guinea pigs *across the spectrum*
who are willing to tinker and report back on where the sore spots are,
particularly for crucial tasks, and focus on those. (Just as there are hi/lo
readers, there are hi/lo tech folks-high motivation low skill, who are not
going to freak out if something is inexplicable or doesn't work quite right
and will give you good feedback instead of railing against change.) 

* There will always be some people for whom there is never enough
documentation, training, "prep time," etc., and will bitterly complain about
technology being foisted on them by (to quote one memorable presentation I
once attended) the "technocrats" in the "back office" (some of whom, this
person seethed, do not even have library degrees), just as there are some
people who need almost none of it and will be impatient to see things rolled
out Right Now even though people are still puzzling through a technology.
Documentation efforts should target the middle 80 percent. 

* Note that oddly enough, treating IT staff as professionals and respecting
their contributions to the institution, the demands on their time, and even
their cultural approach to doing things often yields a better level of
service for you individually. Can't imagine why that would be, and yet I
have seen it with mine own two eyes.  

K.G. Schneider
kgs at freerangelibrarian.com