[layer8]

Even if they don’t read (software) documentation at first, it’s good to have something to point them to when a question or issue comes up. After that happens a couple of times, some may even learn that consulting the documentation is a useful thing to do.

[pc86]

Speaking from experience, if you're working with professionals (not always the case, of course), if 4/5 times your answer is just a polite link to a piece of documentation, over time they will start checking that documentation first.

Like someone else said though, a lot of times the documentation just isn't any good. And just because it's great for a developer doesn't mean it's even useful for a VP Sales (for example).

[musingsole]

I'll echo this from my experience managing development tools for a 40 person team. At first, someone is asking you questions because the tool is new, no one knows where resources on it might be, but they do know you work on it. If this continues, it's because whatever non-you resources that are available aren't answering questions adequately. So change/update the docs until they can answer the questions for you.

/That said, there's always someone who develops the heuristic that asking you is faster. So, don't be.

[mindhash]

I had a similar experience. It does reduce the calls after a while. Some people will still not get it, thats ok.

I also tried posting video walkthroughs for those who don't read. Okish response.