The Return of Dave Lonning, Documentation Wrangler

It's probably no surprise that writing software is a somewhat difficult task. There's an unfathomable amount of iteration and detective work that goes into creating a product that feels intuitive for the new user, yet familiar to the ardent fan.

Surprisingly, the art of crafting effective software documentation demands some of the exact same iteration and detective skills. Inserting helpful guidance at just the right point in the user conversation (without over-explaining) can be a tricky dance.

Luckily, Dave Lonning, documentation wrangler, is up to the challenge. He returns to the Omni show (Episode 10, for you longtime listeners!) to talk about how his role has shifted over the last few years. Andrew and Dave discuss how he's approached the fresh challenges emerging in the software documentation process.

You can find Dave @davelonning on Twitter.

Some other people, places, and things mentioned:

• Apple Help format
• Apple Help Viewer
• WebView
• EPUB
• iBooks
• PDF
• OmniGraffle
• OmniFocus
• OmniOutliner
• OmniPlan
• Omni Slack Channel
• Omni-Automation.com
• Documentation at support.omnigroup.com