User manuals as project management tools. II. Practical applications

In a companion paper (1994) I argued that the mismatch of a delivered Information System (IS) to the users' expectations of it is a frequent cause of project failure. These expectations are held in a conceptual structure, referred to by some authors as a mental model. Helping users develop appropriate mental models of the new IS in an early project phase is an important element in managing expectations, but the documents traditionally used to express and check users' requirements often fail in this regard. Over the last two decades a few authors have found that user manuals written early in the project can be very effective as a means of communication between developers and users. This paper reviews the literature and describes the different roles that user manuals can play throughout a project. It provides practical advice for professional communicators, project managers, and other project personnel