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 (this list is incomplete, please add yours):

Sakai Community Documentation (Denver, 2010): http://confluence.sakaiproject.org/display/CONF2010/Sakai+Community+Documentation
Strategies to Support Your Users: Custom Documentation and Help Files (Boston, 2009): http://confluence.sakaiproject.org/display/CONF10/Thursday-Strategies+to+Support+Your+Users
BOF about community documentation (Boston, 2009): http://confluence.sakaiproject.org/display/CONF10/Thursday-Documentation-Discussing+a+Better+Sharing+Strategy+%28BOF%29
Toward a Sakai Documentation Project (2008): http://confluence.sakaiproject.org/display/DOC/Toward+a+Sakai+Documentation+Project
The End-User Support pages: http://confluence.sakaiproject.org/display/ESUP/End-User+Support+Group
The Project: Help pages: http://confluence.sakaiproject.org/display/HELP/Home

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?

Name	Email	Institution	Expected contribution
Mathieu Plourde	mathieu@udel.edu	University of Delaware	Ideas, workflows, leadership
Alan Regan	alan dot regan at pepperdine dot edu	Pepperdine University	Ideas, workflows, content
Lorie Stolarchuk	lorie@uwindsor.ca	University of Windsor	Pain points of current situation, integration joys/woes of Brock's MediaWiki, ideas (time permitting )
Robin Hill	hill@uwyo.edu	University of Wyoming	Content, editing... whatever I checked on Alan Regan's form

Key Questions

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

1. How do we define "end-user documentation" - purpose, audience, and content?

Who's Interested?

Key Questions

1. How do we define "end-user documentation" - purpose, audience, and content?

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

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

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

5. How should the help documentation be organized?

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

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

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

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

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