Book Review
The User Manual Manual – How to Research, Write, Test, Edit and Produce a Software Manual by Michael Bremer – UnTechnical Press, Concord, CA 1999 ISBN 0-9669949-1-4
Michael Bremer has done it again. “What has he done?” you ask. He’s taken another very complex subject about writing documentation and broken it down into easy-to-understand portions.
This book is separated into four parts:
1. The Software User Manual
2. The Sample Project
3. Exhibits
4. Appendices
Simple as that. In each section, he supplies useful, complete, and state-of-the art examples and information about writing software user manuals.
Depending on your experience as a technical writer, you may want to approach this book from a few different angles. And, just like Michael, he’s already one step ahead of you and addresses your needs under the section “How to Use This Book.”
If you are just starting to write manuals, he recommends that you read Part 1 and scan Part 2. After you obtain your own project, then he suggests you go back to Part 2 and read it carefully, a stage at a time.
If you’re already an experienced manual writer, you may want to just focus on the section “Parts of the Manual” in Part 1 and then read whatever stages you need help in from Part 2.
And, if you’re just looking for some “light” reading, or can’t help yourself, go ahead and start at the beginning and read it completely through.
Speaking of reading, Michael goes into detail about how people read and use manuals. He gives you hints about making your manual meet your readers’ needs. This information is extremely useful for those writers who need to understand the different kinds of readers.
My favorite part of the book is pages 30 through 58, “The Software Manual Dilemma.” I consider this section a must read for any writer who wants to create software manuals. Even though you may think you know every section that belongs in a manual and why, you’ll learn something new by reading this section. I have already bookmarked and underlined several areas!
New writers will especially benefit from the section “Companies and Their Systems.” It helps to understand the company you are working for and the system you are working in. Michael spends a great deal of time explaining the organization, development team, design documents, development lifecycles, tools, and the cost of changes.
As for the sample project? Well, let me tell you that nowhere have I ever seen a more thorough and comprehensible walkthrough of a
Go To Page: 1 2
