From: James Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
As systems programmers we then complain about new functions not being
exploited - surely we have a responsibility to at least 'point people' in
the right direction.
James,
I think the responsibility for informing people of new software
functionality should fall primarily on the software vendor, secondarily on
company management, and finally (and to a much lesser extent) on the actual
individual who uses the software.
In the case of management, making employees aware of changes can be
accomplished in various ways, whether it be as formal as a training class or
as simple as a memo. It should be part of someones job description (e.g. the
systems programmer who installs each new release or any other knowledgable
individual) to ensure this is done.
In the case of a software vendor, I believe all of the following should be
mandatory:
1) A section at the start of the user guide/reference manual should cover
all new product features.
2) A tutorial, available directly from the primary tutorial, should cover
all new product features.
3) When a user first enters a new product version, they should automatically
see a message saying "This is a new version, would you like to see the new
features tutorial now or defer to later?"
In addition, if there are ways to highlight new features (such as displaying
a message the first time a certain option is selected), that should be done
as well. Field-level help, context sensitive tutorials, messages that
actually convey meaningful information (etc) all go without saying. In other
words, vendors should do absolutely everything in their power to make their
software as easy to use as humanly possible.
Dave Salt
SimpList(tm) - The easiest, most powerful way to surf a mainframe!
http://www.mackinney.com/products/SIM/simplist.htm
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