Participatory documentation: a case study & rationale

Abstract

This poster focuses on how consumers learn to use marketing automation software, what types of documentation they prefer, and why. Interviews with U.S. and U.K. marketers demonstrate that implementing marketing automation software requires users to re-learn their jobs, and requires companies to reconfigure organizational structures and workflows. Accordingly, users are interested in knowing how counterparts apply the software, despite raising concerns about privacy. Based on these findings, the poster illustrates the advantages that software companies - especially those operating on a Waterfall development model - can gain by allowing users to participate in creating and refining documentation. In addition to reducing the learning curve for users, participatory documentation enables companies to gather feedback that is critical to making documentation and software more usable.