Robert Pirsigs Message for Documentation Quality
Henrietta Nickels Shirk
Teachers of technical communication frequently
recommend that their students read Robert Pirsigs
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974)
for his views on the complex relationships between
technology and human values. As a former technical
writer, Pirsig also offers some useful advice about
Quality and its relation to the usability of technical
documentation. Revisiting Pirsigs works, including the
more recently published Lila (1991), reveals concepts
about Quality in documentation that are especially
relevant to the usability testing of the documentation
for todays rapidly evolving technologies. This paper
examines Pirsigs views on the some of the
characteristics of effective technical communication,
and it offers advice to educators and trainers for
incorporating Pirsigs concepts about Quality into
their teaching of techniques for the usability testing,
and hence quality, of user documentation.
ONGOING QUEST FOR QUALITY
Robert Pirsig is an author obsessed with the concept of
Quality. The Voyager Companys recently published
hypertextual software version of Pirsigs two books--
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974) and
Lila (1991)--indicates that he uses the word "Quality a
total of 393 times in these books. The subtitles of the
books indicate that Pirsig sees values and morals as
absolutely fundamental to the idea of quality.
Zen: "An Inquiry into Values
The inquiry of Zen is an exploration of the meaning of
value in life, which is the basic meaning of Quality. The
pursuit of Quality, in both its metaphysical and
epistemological senses, is the intellectual and emotional
goal for Pirsig and his reason for writing the book. His
obsession for Quality has also been what Pirsig believes
to have been the cause of his insanity. For Pirsig, this
concept of Quality is impossible to define, although it is
essential to his philosophical system. Nevertheless, he
provides this definition: "Quality is the continuing
stimulus which our environment puts upon us to create
the world in which we live. All of it. Every last bit of it
(6).
Lila: "An Inquiry into Morals
The inquiry of Lila is an exploration of the meaning of
ethics. For Pirsig this concept is a practical application
of his views on Quality to a specific human situation,
which is a story that considers the value of a
particular individual. That character is Lila, who
appears to be an unlikely candidate for demonstrating
the nature of quality. Pirsig concludes at the end of the
book that the Metaphysics of Quality "isnt a noun or an
adjective or anything else definable, but if you had to
reduce it to a single sentence, Quality is a noun rather
than an adjective (5).
Both books represent Pirsigs continuing inquiries into
the meaning of Quality, first from a theoretical
perspective, and secondly from a practical or applied
perspective. With Pirsig as an example, technical
communicators can apply the theory of Quality to actual
practice, especially in the area of quality assurance.
Pirsigs professional affinities with technical
communicators are notable, and they make his views
especially relevant to current theories of quality
assurance as they pertain to documentation. Before
writing his books, Pirsig was himself a professional
technical communicator.
PIRSIG AS TECHNICAL WRITER
Early in Zen, Pirsig informs the reader that he (or
himself as the books narrator) has been editing digital
computer manuals prior to the motorcycle trip that he
describes in the book. As he explains, "Writing and
editing is what I do for a living the other eleven months
of the year.(6) At other times in the book, he also
refers to himself as "an engineering writer and to the
fact that he has a degree in journalism and has worked
as a journalist, a science writer, and an industrial-
advertising writer (6).
Much later, in Lila, Pirsig tells the reader that "for
several years he [now identified as his former self or
alter-ego Phaedrus] wrote technical manuals describing
complex military computers and that he "had learned
how to troubleshoot computers electronically(5).
Pirsig, as narrator of his books, is clearly an
experienced technical communicator who knows about
technology, and he has some relevant advice for those
in the field today.
It is from the basis of his experience as a technical
communicator that Pirsig describes what he calls
"spectator manuals. These are user documents that are
"full of errors, ambiguities, omissions and information
so completely screwed up you had to read them six
times to make any sense out of them.(6)
Spectator manuals present their information without any
consideration of the difficulties of the user. Such
manuals are devoid of characteristics which Pirsig
would consider aspects of Quality.
USABILITY TESTING = QUALITY
Before further examining Pirsigs concept of Quality, it
is useful to look at some of the current approaches to
usability testing.
Usability testing is typically equated with the
procedures that are part of the product quality assurance
process. Product documentation is typically part of this
process of checking for quality. Dumas and Redish
maintain that "usability means that the people who use
the product can do so quickly and easily to accomplish
their own tasks(2). From a technical communicators
perspective, this means not writing spectator manuals. It
also means paying attention, and perhaps even looking
critically at, the processes and steps involved in the
usability testing procedures.
The goal of all usability testing is to identify and correct
deficiencies in products and their supporting materials
prior to their release. According to Rubin, the intent is
to ensure the creation of products that "are easy to learn
and to use and "are satisfying to use(8). Others would
also add that the intent of usability testing is to provide
utility and functionality that are highly valued by the
target population (3). Through choices about content,
organization, style, format, and graphics, technical
communicators make decisions about what is valuable
for their audiences.
According to Nielsen and Mack, "usability is a fairly
broad concept that basically refers to how easy it is for
users to learn a system, how efficiently they can use it
once they have learned it, and how pleasant it is to use.
Also, the frequency and seriousness of user errors are
normally considered to be constituent parts of usability.
Thus, a user can find an interface element to be
problematic for many reasons: It might make the system
harder to learn; it might make it slower for users to
perform their tasks; it may cause usage errors; or it may
simply be ugly or otherwise unpleasing(4).
Ease of learning is only one attribute of usability. Other
attributes of usability like functionality and ease of use
were found to be correlated with ease of learning by
Wharton, et al. (9).
The above conclusions from recent books on usability
testing demonstrate the attention that is increasingly
given to the objective and quantitative aspects of
products. Quality is therefore ostensibly achieved when
users can learn a product quickly, use it efficiently, and
make fewer errors when doing so, and therefore have
what Pirsig calls Quality. We can therefore conclude
that products, including user documentation, that fulfill
these characteristics are satisfying and pleasing, and
have what Pirsig calls Quality.
Pirsigs work thus adds a further aspect of quality to our
quantitative definition. He accomplishes this expansion
through various episodes within his narrative structure.
TECHNOLOGY: SCIENCE & ART
One example from Pirsigs narrative in Zen
demonstrates his views on why and how technical
communicators should pay attention to the quality of
their work. While visiting his friends the DeWeeses in
Montana, Pirsig attends a social event during which his
host brings him a set of instructions for assembling an
outdoor barbecue rotisserie which he asks Pirsig "to
evaluate as a technical writer (6). Apparently,
DeWeese has spent a whole afternoon unsuccessfully,
and with great frustration, trying to assemble the
rotisserie.
During the ensuing conversation, Pirsig demonstrates
his dualistic concepts of the classical (scientific and
technical) and romantic (artistic and creative)
viewpoints, which we can apply when considering the
quality of technical communication. Science and
technology work with chunks and bits and pieces of
things, while art works with the continuity of things
presumed, with the chunks and bits and pieces
presumed. As Pirsig formulates the problem, "What he
[DeWeese] really wants me to damn is the lack of
artistic continuity, something an engineer couldnt care
less about. It hangs up, really, on the classic-romantic
split, like everything else about technology(6).
Pirsig proceeds to suggest that the concept of having
"great peace of mind opens up vast realms for the
improvement of technical writing. And he explains that
the machine (that is, technology) is neither right nor
wrong, and that the test of the machine is always in the
mind of its user (6). Two factors, then, may be present
that reduce the quality and usability of documentation:
(1) The writer may have obtained the content
information from the least qualified person. Writers
may be assigned by management to get their material
from the technical person needed the least, to "the
biggest goof-off available, because the really good
technicians are too busy doing technical work. In such
circumstances, whatever the "goof-off tells the writer
becomes the content of the user documentation.
(2) The writer may mistakenly assume that there is just
one right way to do things. In such cases, the
instructions begin and end exclusively with the
machine. They are not task-oriented. As Pirsig explains
it, "if you have to choose among an infinite number of
ways to put it [the machine] together then the relation to
the machine to you, and the relation of the machine and
you to the rest of the world, has to be considered,
because the selection from among many choices, the art
of the work is just as dependent upon your own mind
and spirit as it is upon the material of the machine.
Thats why you need the peace of mind(6).
Being aware of both of these factors that can go wrong
with the process of creating documents can help
technical communicators avoid building their "personal
problems right into the machine [documentation]
itself, according to Pirsig. The merging of technology
and art is an important aspect of avoiding these
problems. As Pirsig describes our societys present
classical-romantic split, "whats wrong with technology
is that its not connected in any way with matters of the
spirit and heart (6).
PEDAGOGICAL SUGGESTIONS
Students and professional practitioners of technical
communication can be made aware of the importance of
"spirit and heart (and passion and creativity) in
designing and evaluating the effectiveness of user
documents.
Pirsig can be the starting point for a study unit on
Quality assurance in any undergraduate or graduate
course in technical communication. His views are just
as relevant today as they were in the 1970s. Some
suggested activities for accomplishing this integrative
task are:
(1) Begin with a close, thorough reading and discussion
of the texts. Pirsigs books are still available in
paperback editions, so it is financially feasible to
include them as additional required texts for a variety of
technical communication courses at both the graduate
and undergraduate levels.
(2) Identify and discuss as many of Pirsigs dualisms as
possible, requiring students to "take sides and
participate in role-playing to argue for the various
positions. Some of these dualisms, for example, include
those of subject and object, romantic and classic,
mysticism and mechanism, mind and machine, thought
and action, art and engineering, and East and West.
(3) Require students to write their own definitions of
Quality in reference to the kinds of technical
communication they are studying. Have them extend
and expand this exercise through applying fellow
classmates definitions to various samples of technical
communication.
(4) Use the Guidebook to "Zen and the Art of
Motorcycle Maintenance (1) as a collection of
resources for understanding Pirsigs book. Place it on
reserve in your university library. It includes useful
background on both Eastern and Western philosophy,
critical reviews of the book, a bibliography, topics for
discussion and further research, chapter-by-chapter
detailed explanatory notes, and an analytical index.
(5) Invite a practicing product quality assurance
specialist to be a guest speaker in your class.
Ask students to prepare questions for this speaker ahead
of time, and to focus not only on how such work is
accomplished, but also on how quality assurance
professionals decide when a product is satisfying or
pleasing to potential user, and on how functionality can
relate to the "art of products and their user
documentation.
(6) Require students to interview some typical users of
products that they personally know very well, and then
to report orally or in writing on their findings. Their
questions to the users should address both the science
and the art of using the products.
In addition to the above activities, students may also be
referred to the list of websites on Pirsig at the end of
this article.
Although Pirsig is deeply concerned about the
abstraction of Quality in his Zen and Lila, he is also
convinced that conceptualizing can be the enemy of
Quality. Pirsig knows that Quality is a process and that
making it into an idea, and especially into a definition,
destroys something about it (7). As he explains, "All
this classical talk about Quality isnt Quality (6).
Abstraction may be unavoidable in talking about the
Quality of technical communication. However, the most
important effort that technical communicators can make
when evaluating their professional work is to resist
rationalizing and intellectualizing, and to examine their
professional work empirically. The quality assurance
effort provides this opportunity.
In the narrative of Zen, Pirsig tells the reader that "it is
better to travel than to arrive. (6). Being on the way to
Quality is more important than arriving at ones
destination. It is, after all, the process of usability
testing that results in the assurance of quality that
characterizes effective technical communication. And it
is the process that requires ongoing critical analysis.
Pirsigs perspectives on Quality can add several new
and important dimensions to the quality assurance
process that is essential for technical communicators to
effectively design products that meet the needs of their
diverse audiences.
REFERENCES
(1) DiSanto, Ronald L., and Thomas J. Steele,
Guidebook to "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle
Maintenance, William Morrow and Company, Inc.,
New York, 1990.
(2) Dumas, Joseph S., and Janice C. Redish. A
Practical Guide to Usability Testing, Ablex Publishing
Corporation, Norwood, New Jersey, 1993.
(3) Gould, J. D. and C. Lewis, "Designing for
Usability: Key Principles and What Designers Think,
Communications of the ACM, 2 (3), March 1985, pp.
300-311.
(4) Nielsen, Jakob, and Robert L. Mack, eds., Usability
Inspection Methods, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New
York, 1994.
(5) Pirsig, Robert M., Lila: An Inquiry into Morals.
Bantam Books, New York, 1991.
(6) Pirsig, Robert M., Zen and the Art of Motorcycle
Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values, Bantam Books,
New York, 1974.
(7) Rodino, Richard H., "Irony and Earnestness in
Robert Pirsigs Zen and the Art of Motorcycle
Maintenance, Critique: Studies in Modern Fiction,
Vol. 22 (1980), pp. 21-31.
(8) Rubin, Jeffrey, Handbook of Usability Testing:
How to Plan, Design, and Conduct Effective Tests,
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1994.
(9) Wharton, Cathleen, John Rieman, Clayton Lewis,
Peter Polson, "The Cognitive Walkthrough Method: A
Practitioners Guide, in Jakob Nielsen and Robert L.
Mack, eds., Usability Inspection Methods, John Wiley
& Sons, Inc., New York, 1994, pp. 105-140.
RECOMMENDED WEBSITES
http://www.levity.com/corduroy/pirsig.htm A good
source for numerous Pirsig web links.
http://gopher.tarleton.edu/academics/depts/english/pirsi
g.htm The Robert Pirsig Resources Project.
http://gopher.tarleton.edu/academics/depts/english/nyt.h
tm/ A 1974 New York Times interview with Pirsig.
http://home.sol.no/~skutvik/ The Quality Event.
http://gopher.tarleton.edu/academics/depts/english/writi
ng.htm Passages Concerning Writing in Pirsig.
http://wwwis.cs.utwente.nl:8080/~faase/P/B/Z/ Access
to online text of Zen and additional resources.
Henrietta Nickels Shirk, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Technical Communication
English Department, University of North Texas
P. O. Box 308503
Denton, TX 76203-8503
Telephone: 940-565-2188; Fax: 940-565-4355
E-mail: hnshirk@unt.edu
Henrietta Nickels Shirk is a senior member of STC.
She is a frequent conference presenter, and she has
published widely on many aspects of the theory and
practice of technical communication. She teaches
undergraduate and graduate courses in the technical
communication program at the University of North
Texas, Denton, TX, and she is a consultant to industry
on professional ethics and online documentation.