These costs are often underestimated. Analyzing and planning are considered non-productive. However, a carefully considered plan ensures consistent help systems and a productive writing phase later on. Defining User Groups Based on books by Horton, Maes, Ummelen, Hoek and an article by Wright. See References in section 6 .
User groups are distinctive groups of users.
These groups interact differently with the application and the manual. Because of these differences other design decisions can be made. For instance, the type of information presented, or the style in which the information is written can be different. Defining user groups is very useful when you want to communicate effectively with all users. Information about user groups can be obtained through user and task analysis and by talking to other writers, editors, people from marketing, customer service, and technical support.