John Burke wrote
> As for your second suggestion, I'm not sure what the point is since
> choosing the appropriate checklist from the front gives you a
> step-by-step, section-by-section formula on how and where to proceed. It
> can be confusing and somewhat daunting I suppose for first time users, but
> I still have to give HP credit for making a complex process reasonably
> accessible - and not destroying too many forests in the process.
I disagree. I've found that giving the manual to someone who hasn't
installed/updated/patched MPE before usually results in fewer problems, but
makes the install take 2-3 times as long. The reason? The inexperienced
user takes much longer to decide "where to go next".
As a user with 15+ years experience installing/updating/patching MPE, I don't
like the new "choose your own adventure" style manual at all. The two
biggest problems are:
1) The manual is not consistant in what it calls the various tasks. In
particular, the checklist names do not always match the "Where To Go From
Here" names, which don't always match the "If you are using one of the
following checklists" names. The first version was much worse, and a with a
little thought you can always figure out where to go next, but having to
solve a puzzle every couple of pages forces you to focus on plotting your way
through the manual rather than thinking about the install (and perhaps
spotting potential problems).
2) It is *very hard* to page back to an earlier step if you want to check
something, or if something goes wrong and you need to back up a little.
I like Stan's idea of assigning a letter code to each task. The text could
then read "If you are using <bold>Checklist A</bold> (Add-on with Tape and
Manage Patches)...". You could then skim through a page, looking for the
relavent steps, much more quickly.
I know *how* to do each step, I just need to know what step to do; but I have
to read through long detailed explanations to find the one or two words I
need.
For example, there's an entire *page* with it's own major heading and "Where
To Go From Here" chart dedicated to the the step "Exiting HP Patch/iX".
My idea: have a program (which you would restore from the install/patch tape)
that asks you what you are going to do and then prints out customized
instructions. Each instruction should be formatted something like this:
------
12. Update from the CSLT, and boot with "START NORECOVERY NOSYSSTART"
(Long, detailed, description and screen shots go here.)
------
The instruction-generating-program could ask if you want to include the
"long, detailed, description and screen shots" or not.
---
Michael D. Hensley |
Allegro Consultants Inc. | mailto:[log in to unmask]
408/252-2330 | Visit scenic http://www.allegro.com
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