The meaning of reading-to-do documentation

Despite the acknowledged importance of reader feedback to computer documentation, few relevant, standardized, empirically validated measures for such feedback have been developed. Research involving hundreds of experienced computer users from more than 30 organizations indicates that there are at least three principal dimensions which readers use when evaluating documentation used in the performance of job-related software tasks: task relevancy, systematic arrangement, and credibility. A nine-scale measure of these dimensions is proposed for standardized use.