Summary

Little things mean a lot. Although the development of application documentation is a big thing in the mind of the programmer, it should be a small thing to the user. Users simply expect quality documentation to be there if and when they need it. Printing disk labels and putting the customer's logo on the documentation (for custom applications) are nice touches. Still, the content of your documentation is the key, and your users and technical staff may forget all of the nice things you did if you are unable to deliver on your promise of professional documentation.

I still remember when my coworker purchased a Macintosh only a few days after it was released back in 1984. With an ear-to-ear grin on his face, he exclaimed, "I haven't had time to look at the manuals yet; I've been so busy using the computer." A well-written application may be quite usable without any documentation, but a low-quality program will not get any better just because the user's guide is well written. Documentation is not a replacement for a working application. When an application is so tedious that it cannot be used without documentation, it is time to take a look at the correctness of the application itself.