Arguing that current approaches to understanding and constructingcomputer documentation are based on the flawed assumption
that documentation works as a closed system, the authors present
an alternative way of thinking about the texts that make computer
technologies usable for people. Using two historical case studies,
the authors describe how a genre ecologies framework provides
new insights into the complex ways that people use texts to
make sense of computer technologies. The framework is designed
to help researchers and documentors account for contingency,
decentralization, and stability in the multiple texts the people use
while working with computers. The authors conclude by proposing
three heuristic tools to support the work of technical communicators engaged in developing documentation today: exploratory questions, genre
ecology diagrams, and organic engineering.