Guidelines for Creating Documents in Apriori.
Header:
Fill in the complete specific information on hardware,
software, system, and versions.
Summary:
The summary affects keyword searching. It does not have to
match the wording of the incident summary. Use a simple,
concise, keyword description. Be as descriptive as possible
in a small space. Include the product name, error message,
or symptom. Try to put key words up front (they are usually
the subject). Start with name of software or hardware, for
example:
WordPerfect 5.x - using the table feature
Pine - extracting and downloading a mail message
Kermit - Print Screen not working
Problem description:
Edit the description to remove reference to the client's
name or phone number. The description explains the specific
problem stated in the summary and should be short and to the
point.
Solution:
The solution should be clear, simple, specific, and concise
because only a few lines are actually displayed at one time.
(At times, linespacing can improve readability.) Put the
immediate solution at the top and follow with explanations,
causes, etc. When possible, make a list so the solution is
easier to read and follow. If the document refers to
information in another Apriori document, this should be
referenced in "also see."
Things to avoid:
misspellings - keyword searches are negated if words are
misspelled
incorrect solutions - research if necessary to complete
information
incomplete solutions - include all relevant information
(assume reader knows nothing about the subject)
mega-solutions - the opposite of the above: too much
information
Symptoms:
Symptoms appear in the master symptom list and help us
locate documents. They do not have to match the words in the
document. Be sure to:
- use correct symptoms
- use enough symptoms
- avoid wordy symptoms
- avoid typos in symptoms
- be consistent with punctuation
- be consistent with abbreviations
Indexes:
Put your document into the correct index. Cross-reference
indexes where appropriate.
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