Topic: Documentation testing

Message

Do you know how frustrating it is to buy
something that needs assembly, only to find that the instructions are
vague or wrong? Imagine a user of your system trying to follow your
procedures, only to find that crucial information is missing. Good
documentation can keep frustration levels manageable and learning
curves short.

The purpose of documentation testing is to
thoroughly go through all written material that will be presented to
the user as a part of implementation. In many cases, the customers
themselves prepare this documentation, but that doesn’t mean it is
correct. The testing needs to be done a few different ways.

Ask
people who are unfamiliar with the application to follow all documented
procedures. These should be written to provide step-by-step guidance on
how to accomplish a given task. If the testers can’t successfully
complete the procedures, the documentation needs to be improved.
Have
people with strong English, punctuation, and grammar skills review all
the material for professionalism and readability. It would be great to
use professional proofreaders. Otherwise, use employees with strong
written communication skills.
Try
out all alternative ways that are documented to accomplish a task. In
many cases, the primary way works, but the alternatives do not.
If
you are describing policies or standards, make sure that the
appropriate authorities in your organization review and approve your
wording. You don’t want to misquote or misapply an important company
policy.
Evaluate any manual
forms, checklists, and templates to ensure that they are accurate and
that the appropriate information is being collected.

If
you have the right people identified for this test, and you go over all
the manual documentation thoroughly, you will reduce or eliminate a
source of frustration and resistance after the application is
implemented.

Edited by moderator - 05May2007 at 4:11am

Author	Message
dipsikha Newbie Joined: 04Apr2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 15	Topic: Documentation testing Posted: 04Apr2007 at 3:13am
	Do you know how frustrating it is to buy something that needs assembly, only to find that the instructions are vague or wrong? Imagine a user of your system trying to follow your procedures, only to find that crucial information is missing. Good documentation can keep frustration levels manageable and learning curves short. The purpose of documentation testing is to thoroughly go through all written material that will be presented to the user as a part of implementation. In many cases, the customers themselves prepare this documentation, but that doesn’t mean it is correct. The testing needs to be done a few different ways. Ask people who are unfamiliar with the application to follow all documented procedures. These should be written to provide step-by-step guidance on how to accomplish a given task. If the testers can’t successfully complete the procedures, the documentation needs to be improved. Have people with strong English, punctuation, and grammar skills review all the material for professionalism and readability. It would be great to use professional proofreaders. Otherwise, use employees with strong written communication skills. Try out all alternative ways that are documented to accomplish a task. In many cases, the primary way works, but the alternatives do not. If you are describing policies or standards, make sure that the appropriate authorities in your organization review and approve your wording. You don’t want to misquote or misapply an important company policy. Evaluate any manual forms, checklists, and templates to ensure that they are accurate and that the appropriate information is being collected. If you have the right people identified for this test, and you go over all the manual documentation thoroughly, you will reduce or eliminate a source of frustration and resistance after the application is implemented. Edited by moderator - 05May2007 at 4:11am Post Resume: Click here to Upload your Resume & Apply for Jobs

	IP Logged


One Stop Testing Forum : Types Of Software Testing @ OneStopTesting : System Testing @ OneStopTesting