Help Files and Documentation Process Redesign

It has now become clear that the Sakai out of the box (OOTB) help files are suffering from a lack of attention. This everlasting issue has been lingering for the longest while, with bursts of interest occurring here and there, as the following links demonstrate:

• Toward a Sakai Documentation Project (2008): http://confluence.sakaiproject.org/display/DOC/Toward+a+Sakai+Documentation+Project
• Documentation Preso (Boston, 2009):
• Documentation Preso (Denver, 2010):

It is now time to gather members of the Sakai community and Foundation to tackle this problem once and for all. Bad documentation leads to unnecessary local efforts that do not find their way back to the OOTB help files. Now that so many schools are looking at LMS alternatives, and that the Sakai community wants to promote the use of Sakai, this is a blocker to adoption for many.

Recent threads on the "Sakai User" list has generated interest in this process. It's now time to walk the talk.

Who's Interested?

Key Questions

Before we start defining our process, please share your thoughts the following questions:

1. What do users need to accomplish their tasks in Sakai?

2. How do users find information when they hit the wall?

3. What works in the way our documentation is organized?

4. How should the help documentation be organized?

5. What is the current process used to revise and improve the OOTB documentation?

6. What are the difference between help files and other documentation?

7. How can we encourage the Sakai community to contribute their improvement back to the OOTB help files?

8. How should we vet the quality of the OOTB help files?

9. How should we address the branding and localization issues (different names, logos, style sheets, languages)?