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Personas in Documentation Presented at 11 th  Annual Conference of STC India, Bangalore, 2009 Arun Martin, Technical Writer  Niranjan Jahagirdar, Technical Editor
Agenda ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]
What Are Personas ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],The persona:  Jeff is a technical communicator with 20 years of experience. In addition to being a busy editor, he spends many hours daily on e-mail, mentoring colleagues and answering questions—questions about the intricacies of using software to produce documentation, about the nature of documentation, and about life at work. Jeff is connected continuously to the Web via a high-speed connection, and spends hours researching answers to writing questions. Oddly enough, he actually reads computer manuals and online help for fun, and many "how to" books and books on communication theory fill the groaning bookshelves in his office. The documentation considerations : To meet Jeff's needs, deliver documentation in the form of leading questions that arrive via e-mail. This caters to Jeff's mentoring nature by encouraging him to explore in order to answer these questions. Additional documentation should be provided in the form of sponsored Google advertising; this way, whenever Jeff uses his Web browser to research a topic, he immediately sees links to the relevant section of the developer's Web site. Because these links are dynamically generated using Google's patented AdWords technology, they provide an efficient path into the documentation. Moreover, maintaining the documentation on the Web site ensures that the most recent documentation is instantly available, is truly minimalistic, and promotes learning by exploration.
Where Personas Fit in Doc Development Requirements  Analysis Writing Production Doc Plan Reviews Archiving Persona Development Brings Focus Builds Empathy Encourages Consensus Leads to Efficient Documentation Equips for Better Decision-Making
Common Documentation Scenarios ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],Complete Manual Regular Updates Critical Updates
How to Get Started? ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]
Common Research Methods ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]
User Research ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]
Common approach to creating Personas  ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]
Common approach to creating Personas (Contd) ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]
When to use this common approach ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]
Recommended Reading ,[object Object],[object Object]
References ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]
[object Object],[object Object]

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Personas In Documentation

  • 1. Personas in Documentation Presented at 11 th Annual Conference of STC India, Bangalore, 2009 Arun Martin, Technical Writer Niranjan Jahagirdar, Technical Editor
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  • 4. Where Personas Fit in Doc Development Requirements Analysis Writing Production Doc Plan Reviews Archiving Persona Development Brings Focus Builds Empathy Encourages Consensus Leads to Efficient Documentation Equips for Better Decision-Making
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Editor's Notes

  1. - Help everyone make decisions based on research, and not based on themselves Personas summarize user research findings and bring that research to life in such a way that everyone can make decisions based on these personas, not based on themselves. Personas are defined by their goals, behaviors, and attitudes. You create personas to discover how best to serve your different types of users, but you should also agree on what you want them to do.