Some dicussion
Regarding the distribution method I see two ways:
- In the application as you suggested
Pros:
- Documentation always matches application version because they are
distributed together.
Removes a lot of user's headache & bug reports and thus developer's
headache. And bad reputation.
Agreed on this.
- Documentation is available even when offline.
You can not reach where you app can reach :)
Internet is not that easily available everywhere, everytime, for everyone :(
I sometimes forget not everyone has internet everywhere, always.
- I can't track people visiting the documentation based on IP for
instance.
Is that required?
No that's why it is in the Pros :) With in app based help there is no way for me (or anyone) to track Simpletask users, which is good.
Cons:
- Requires coding for the tutorial part risking bugs in the app.
Do you mean the Help Dialog?
But this in-app help is essential for this complex job using a simple
app. Otherwise, users will have to choose one of the two ways: 1.
false feature requests, 2. move away from the app!
True, in app help is best
Our brain is more complex & does more complex jobs easily (very
rarely we feel it) than human invented Computer.
I don't know about the coding, but what I'm suggesting is to add a
dialog similar to what we now get for Settings. Is that to difficult
job.
- Increases size of app (especially if I include screenshots which I
want)
I don't think including screenshot in the app is that good decision.
It will not adapt/scale well with different screen sizes. Remember,
here reading the text (task, tag) is most important.
Also, so far atleast for this app, I am not seeing any necessity of graphics.
I am starting to think towards, manual in app, walkthrough / tutorial linked from app on web.
- More difficult to update quickly (linked to app distribution)
Yeah, this is a point.
Crowdsourcing is an option. Or, release update, after updating the
document, I mean a little delay. Release without the tutorial itself
may be considered a bug :)
Yes and when the content stabalizes, new releases of Simpletask should not need big doc changes.
- On the web
Pros:
- Much easier to publish and discuss. I can put a draft version up on
the web and we can discuss it in minutes.
- Easier to include screenshots.
A separate page can be maintaind as "Quick start guide" or "Visual
tour", and including as much screenshots & video tutorials as
possible.
You can provide a hyperlink to that page from the Help Dialog.
You can depend on crowdsourcing, I mean user/developer community.
Agreed, I don't think croudsourcing would be needed
- No real limit to size. Including plenty of screenshots doesn't
increase the app size.
Cons:
- Documentation can be out of sync with user version.
Great unsatisfaction for opensource/free programs!!
Yes I agree this is very bad.
- Documentation not available offline (although I will probably publish
it as a single html file).
A long one page document is boring due to navigation problem. Also
tortures computer as well as our brain & eyes. Anyway, you can split
it and distribute as archive. What about the previous point!
- I could track users visiting my website (I don't but I could).
Unable to find the justification. Your bug tracker already says how
vital this app is.
It's not a justification that's why it is in the cons. I can imagine if you are very privacy conscious, you will not like it if you have to go to a website for just understanding how to use the app.
Because of the ease of publishing and the size consideration I would
prefer option 2. What do you think?
For option 2 no more great work is required, for the offline tutorial
you need to start thinking now.
I would suggest to go with the first option, if that become
problematic in future, you can think about the 2nd option.
Within that time I hope, already there will be good knowledgable
community arround this project. And users will know how to work with
this app & what to expect, from the very beginning, and bigger the
community bigger the chance of getting help from someone close to you.
Will you please paste this discussion at the tutorial ticket at
redmine to help decision making in future, (removing private/sensitive
portions obviously).
Done
Or, better summarise it at the Design Decisions list (without
referring to our discussion).
Will do this later.
Thanks,
Mark
Reporter: Mark Janssen
Assigned to: Mark Janssen
Begin: 2014-01-08
Completed: 0