Minimalism as a framework

We identify various minimalist techniques and argue that, although these techniques can conflict with each other, together they provide a framework for designing computer documentation. A minimalist approach involves making tradeoffs within this framework rather than following a set of prescriptive techniques. Minimalism in this sense, is a pragmatic design philosophy aimed at the overall objective of "minimizing" obstacles to use. The framework covers the following design issues: word and page count, duplication, selective documentation of facilities, elaboration, task orientation, guided exploration, error recovery, and access.

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