I recently read an article by Michael Hughes called "Users as Decision Makers".
His article is here: http://www.divshare.com/download/6513696-0d8
The gist is that product documentation often fails in its lack of guidance. In other words, there's too much information on what one can do and not enough information on what one should do.
And it's a very good point.
Knowing that a software setting can go from 1-89 is important, but what are the implications of the different values? What should I set it to so that I achieve my desired outcome?
Maybe this is one of the reasons that product documentation gets a bad rap from user communities; why they hate being told to "consult the manual" before calling for support. Most users of software are very good at recognizing the various interface elements and how they work - drop-down menus, radio buttons, fields and forms - these things don't need to be explained, at least not as much as what users should do with them.
Instead of "Click the drop-down menu and select a value between 1 and 89", a manual should explain how the settings will affect the user's goal. The user guide should really be a guide.
Anyway, Michael's article makes a great point - one that all technical communicators should keep in mind. Read it and I think you'll agree.
