Re: dia outline

[Kenny Graunke <kwg teleport com>]

On Mon, Sep 04, 2000 at 09:59:13AM -0600 or thereabouts, John Fleck wrote:
> On Sun, Sep 03, 2000 at 07:52:39PM -0500, Kevin Breit wrote:
> 
> > Basically, I use the term "Concept based instead of UI
> > based".  We used to go through each menu, say what it did, and let the user
> > figure out how to put them together to actually work. For concept based, you 
> > describe the tasks of the program, and how to do them. 
> 
> I think the new Dia outline is a terrific start in the right direction. But I
> don't think it goes far enough.
> 
> It's hard for me to judge it without seeing in more detail how the
> introductory "Quick Start" section will play out, but it seems as
> though you have substituted the program's functional structure
> (Canvas, Objects, Selecting Objects, etc.) for the UI's functional
> structure (the way we used to do it) as an organizational principal 
> for the doc. I agree that we need to move away from the UI. But I
> think you need to take this one step further, and organize the doc, at
> least an expanded version of the "Quick Start", in terms of the *task*
> as the organizational principal.
> 
> So instead of:
> 
> QuickStart
>  (brief description - "This section shows you how to get started
>   using Dia to make ...".  This also shows off Dia's features
>   and pretty screenshots.)
>  +Creating a Canvas
>  +Making a Diagram
>  +Saving and Printing Your Diagram
>  +Using Dia for Real-Life Applications
> 
> I would do something like:
> 
> QuickStart
>  +Using Dia for Real-Life Applications
> 	+ set up a very concrete, very simple example of a job you'd use Dia to do
> 		+ define problem
> 		+ show screenshot of completed diagram
> Then, use your example to step them through the following:
>  +Creating a Canvas
>  +Making a Diagram
>  +Saving and Printing Your Diagram

 [snip!]

I agree completely. A QuickStart is no place for marketing, "What is this?",
or impressive screenshots. This material belongs more in an "Introduction"
section, where you can answer basic things like "What is dia?", "What can it do
for me?", and so on. This would also be great material for each app's website
(if it has one). A good QuickStart section shows people the basic things they
need to do common, simple tasks.

Kenny