Most tools come with a user manual that helps the user get a greater understanding of how the software is used. Some software programs are built with a “user manual” that will get the user a little more comfortable with the software and how to use it. These manual, often printed, books should be placed where the user will immediately notice if something doesn’t quite “get” them when they first start.
In recent studies, students were allowed to go onto a web-site and look at documents stored in their text-based computer. Researchers determined how different software programs are put together to get the complete picture of the structure of the data on the web-site. How they were put together could be a mystery to the student, but their goal to break down all the seemingly disparate pieces could be achieved.
There’s a reason why a software program is put together like a puzzle — it’s in your head (or is it your stomach?). Computer programmers need to get down into your head and put together the pieces of software to get a complete description of the data stored.
Software programmers should only ever create a program by getting their hands dirty. The programs are put together in a way to have a complete description of the information you are providing the user. Just as good as the software developer is the software programmer so the best way to get a complete understanding is to simply get your fingers dirty.
Software development is a craft. When you break down the pieces and recreate the software, you get a complete description of how the software works.
This software was put together by hand. The user manual, or user guide, is the best start, but a software manual does a great job of describing what the program does.The only thing really worth writing a manual for is when you are starting a game. A good game developer would be the best person to write a game manual.
