The metaphysics of information quality: comments on producing quality technical information

ABSTRACT

The expressed promise in the title of Producing Quality Technical Information is that following its prescriptions will yield "quality" technical information. This commentary asks what the term quality means here and whether the manual delivers on its promise. In other words, which of the several senses of quality is intended in the title, and the does the publication deliver as promised? That is, which of the major quality schemes corresponds to the rationale of the text: legalistic quality, in which quality is conformity to a long list of detailed regulations and specifications (as in ISO 9000); principle-based quality, in which quality is the result of working according to a small set of broad precepts; or mystical quality, in which quality is an indefinable property or spiritual construct, toward which virtuous people should aspire.

REFERENCES

• 1: R. John Brockmann, Not post-usability, just different usability, ACM SIGDOC Asterisk Journal of Computer Documentation, v.19 n.1, p.29-33, March 1995 [doi>10.1145/203586.203593]
• 2: Covey, S. R. (1992). "Principles of total quality," Modern Office Technology (February), 10.
• 3: Garvin, D. A. (1987). "Competing on the eight dimensions of quality," Harvard Business Review (Nov.-Dec.), 101-109.
• 4: Hirsch, E. D. (1977). The philosophy of composition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• 5: Ishikawa, K. (1985). What is total quality control? The Japanese way (trans. David Lu). Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
• 6: Pirsig, R. M. (1974). Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance, New York: Bantam Books.
• 7: Reeves, C. A., and Bednar, D. A. (1944). "Defining quality: Alternatives and implications," Academy of Management Review, 19 (3), 419-445.
• 8: Roberts, H. V., and Sergesketter, B F. (1993). Quality is personal: A foundation for total quality management, New York: The Free Press.
• 9: Rue, L. (1994). By grace of guile, New York: Oxford University Press.
• 10: Spencer, B. A. (1994). "Models of organizational and total quality management: A comparison and critical evaluation," Academy of Management Review, 19 (3), 446-471.
• 11: Charles H. Schmauch, ISO 9000 for Software Developers, ASQ Quality Press, 1995
• 12: Walton, M. (1986). The Deming management method. New York: Perigee.
• 13: Edmond H. Weiss, The retreat from usability: user documentation in the post-usability era, ACM SIGDOC Asterisk Journal of Computer Documentation, v.19 n.1, p.3-18, March 1995 [doi>10.1145/203586.203588]
• 14: Williams, J. (1990). Style: Toward clarity and grace, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• 15: Wright, P. (1988). "Issues of content and presentation in document design, " In M. Helander (ed.), Handbook of human-computer interaction, Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 629-652.

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  I. Computing Methodologies
  I.7 DOCUMENT AND TEXT PROCESSING
      I.7.5 Document Capture

Keywords:
ISO 9000, TQM, documentation, quality, standard, style