What’s simpler: Better documentation, or product improvement?
“If people can’t figure out your user interface, perhaps it’s too crowded. Instead of adding more explanatory text, try removing unneeded options, unnecessary buttons and information the user doesn’t need to see at that moment. The fewer things the user can do, the smaller the chance that he does something he doesn’t actually want to do. The less information the user sees, the smaller the chance that he looks at the wrong data, or misinterprets a piece of data.”— Lukas Mathis in [Nobody reads your dialog boxes](http://ignorethecode.net/blog/2008/10/31/nobody-reads/), a fantastic article. go read it.
This is often part of a larger documentation:product relationship. I see it in manuals and reference books as well. As part of an organization that also produces documentation, it often comes down to time. Which would be faster: Writing a really clear help page, or going back to the development stage? I don’t think there’s an one size fits all rule. Also, there’s something to be said for release early, release often. I’m not suggesting there’s an excuse for poor UX. But don’t let it be an excuse.
