TWC 5/445 Computer Documentation

Course Objective:

To introduce students to writing documentation for the computer industry

Material to be Covered:

Designing and writing documentation which will meet the needs of multiple end users who have varying levels of expertise and varying learning styles

Differences between paper and electronic documentation and the advantages and disadvantages of both

Task orientation--a method of documentation which attempts to integrate the application with the user's work environment

Integrating appropriate visuals, such as "screen-shots," into text

Assignments:

Oral Presentation

Each student must find a piece of hardware documentation (either current or historical) and report on its effectiveness for different levels of end users.

Collaborative Documentation

Students will be assigned to a group. Each group will be responsible for finding an undocumented or inadequately documented piece of freeware or shareware. The group will then be required to produce both paper and electronic documentation for the software.

Report

Each student will submit a 5-7 page report explaining the process of documenting the software. Students should focus on their own role, their observations about documenting as a team, and the necessary differences caused by writing in two media.

Graduate students will do a short (5-7 page) paper analyzing documentation writers' assumptions about end users. They will do so by surveying historical computer documentation from the 1980's to the present day. They may use any manuals they have access to, including but not limited to, the manuals placed on reserve for the course.