Survey

1. What genre of documentation do you use most often?

What genre of documentation do you use most often? Getting Started Guide or Manual (lists simple concepts and tasks, possibly has a "What's New" and "Installation" sections, may include a small tutorial that takes 5 or 10 minutes to work through)

Tutorial (description of a sequence of concrete steps you perform to fulfil a well-defined task)

User's Guide or Manual (description of various procedures grouped by topic)

Reference Guide (listing all the product features in an indexical or alphabetical form)

2. How much do you like each of the following documentation formats?

	1 strongly dislike	2	3 neutral	4	5 strongly like
Textual descriptions (e.g., Javadoc)	*How much do you like each of the following documentation formats? Textual descriptions (e.g., Javadoc) 1 strongly dislike	Textual descriptions (e.g., Javadoc) 2	Textual descriptions (e.g., Javadoc) 3 neutral	Textual descriptions (e.g., Javadoc) 4	Textual descriptions (e.g., Javadoc) 5 strongly like
Code samples with comments	Code samples with comments 1 strongly dislike	Code samples with comments 2	Code samples with comments 3 neutral	Code samples with comments 4	Code samples with comments 5 strongly like
Screencasts	Screencasts 1 strongly dislike	Screencasts 2	Screencasts 3 neutral	Screencasts 4	Screencasts 5 strongly like
Videos of workshops/webcasts with instructors	Videos of workshops/webcasts with instructors 1 strongly dislike	Videos of workshops/webcasts with instructors 2	Videos of workshops/webcasts with instructors 3 neutral	Videos of workshops/webcasts with instructors 4	Videos of workshops/webcasts with instructors 5 strongly like
Usage scenarios described as text	Usage scenarios described as text 1 strongly dislike	Usage scenarios described as text 2	Usage scenarios described as text 3 neutral	Usage scenarios described as text 4	Usage scenarios described as text 5 strongly like
Use case diagrams/flow charts/state machines	Use case diagrams/flow charts/state machines 1 strongly dislike	Use case diagrams/flow charts/state machines 2	Use case diagrams/flow charts/state machines 3 neutral	Use case diagrams/flow charts/state machines 4	Use case diagrams/flow charts/state machines 5 strongly like
Other	Other 1 strongly dislike	Other 2	Other 3 neutral	Other 4	Other 5 strongly like

Specify Other

3. How often do you use each of the following kinds of documentation?

	never	once a month	daily	always open
Textual descriptions (e.g., Javadoc)	*How often do you use each of the following kinds of documentation? Textual descriptions (e.g., Javadoc) never	Textual descriptions (e.g., Javadoc) once a month	Textual descriptions (e.g., Javadoc) daily	Textual descriptions (e.g., Javadoc) always open
Code samples with comments	Code samples with comments never	Code samples with comments once a month	Code samples with comments daily	Code samples with comments always open
Screencasts	Screencasts never	Screencasts once a month	Screencasts daily	Screencasts always open
Videos of workshops/webcasts with instructors	Videos of workshops/webcasts with instructors never	Videos of workshops/webcasts with instructors once a month	Videos of workshops/webcasts with instructors daily	Videos of workshops/webcasts with instructors always open
Usage scenarios described as text	Usage scenarios described as text never	Usage scenarios described as text once a month	Usage scenarios described as text daily	Usage scenarios described as text always open
Use case diagrams/flow charts/state machines	Use case diagrams/flow charts/state machines never	Use case diagrams/flow charts/state machines once a month	Use case diagrams/flow charts/state machines daily	Use case diagrams/flow charts/state machines always open
Other, please specify below	Other, please specify below never	Other, please specify below once a month	Other, please specify below daily	Other, please specify below always open

Other

4. How do you usually use software documentation?

How do you usually use software documentation? I read/watch it all before tackling my problem.

I read/watch the section(s) related to my task before tackling my problem.

I read/watch a small amount and then proceed to the task, returning to the documentation if I reach a dead end.

I start doing my task straightaway hoping that it will be intuitive and only start reading documentation when I reach a dead end.

Other (please specify)

5. When you have to choose among several applications doing more or less the same thing, how important is the availability and the quality of the documentation for your decision?

When you have to choose among several applications doing more or less the same thing, how important is the availability and the quality of the documentation for your decision? 1 == don't care

5 == won't touch anything that doesn't have good documentation

6. What's your greatest obstacle in learning software?

What's your greatest obstacle in learning software? Poor or unavailable documentation.

Documentation in the form I don't like/am not comfortable with.

Lack of good access tools for the topics you may need (e.g. no index or badly organized index).

Lack of time.

No visual aids in the documentation text (diagrams, screenshots, visual structuring of the page, highlighted main points, pictograms, etc.).

Other (please specify)