How To Improve The Content In Your User Manuals
Sep 07, 2011 After meeting with the users and learning and understanding the functionality of the, e.g., application, the Technical Writer can now begin to write the User Guide. If the User Guide is about how to run an application, include: Table of Contents; Information on the product; include a bit of history; How to operate, install, log-on, use the program. Improving User Experience in Manuals. Help users make the most of the instruction manual that comes with a product by taking a user-centric approach to writing it. Article No:951 February 5, 2013 by Anastasios Karafillis. The manual: possibly the most awkward part of a user’s experience with a product.
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Think about the last time that you consulted a manual. Did you start at the beginning and read the whole manual? Probably not. You probably looked first at the index or the table of contents. Once you found the right page or topic, you probably scanned the page first to see if it contained the information you needed. This is how most people read manuals.
No one wants to read your user manual. No one will read your user manual from front to back savoring every word and phrase. Technical documents are not novels. Readers want user manuals to answer their questions quickly so that they can get back to whatever they were doing.
A successful user manual provides users with quick answers to the questions that they might have about a particular product. Users searching for information don’t want to know about the latest and greatest features of a product. Users want to know how to complete tasks. Technical writing focuses on user tasks and the concepts that support the tasks.
Below are some practical tips on writing user manuals that will help you to write content that adapts to the needs of users.
Think like a user
When writing a manual, you need to put on a “user’s hat” and think like a user. You should have a good understanding of your users so you can understand the information they need to know, their background, and their knowledge of the product. Once you think like a user, you can write content that the users need to know.
If you have the opportunity, you will find it very useful to watch users actually using the product. When you watch users interacting with the product, you will get a better idea of what the users need to do, how they approach each task, and when they might use approaches to tasks that are unexpected.
Use active voice
Active voice emphasizes the user and is easier to read and understand. In most cases, especially in user manuals, you should use active voice. In active voice, the subject and verb in the sentence are clear. In passive voice, the subject is unknown and is acted upon by something that is not known or not stated. Passive voice uses verbs that include a form of “to be”.
Compare the two sentences below.
Passive voice: Supplies that will be needed to complete this project include a hammer, a screwdriver, and a rubber mallet.
How To Improve The Content In Your User Manuals Free
Active voice: To complete this project, you will need a hammer, a screwdriver, and a rubber mallet.
The sentence that uses active voice makes it clear that the reader is the person who will complete the action. By using the active voice, you will make your writing more clear, concise, and direct.
Focus on the reader
User manuals should always focus on the reader. Winx dvd ripper platinum user manual. When writing information that involves the reader, such as instructions, use “you” and the active voice. Speaking directly to the reader will:
- Reinforce the message that the information is intended for the reader
- Pull readers into the document and make it relevant to them
- Help to avoid passive voice by focusing on the reader
Compare the two sentences below.
Lack of reader focus: There are three options for viewing content in the editor.
Reader focus: You can choose from one of three options for viewing content in the editor.
The sentence that uses “you” focuses on the reader and makes it clear that the reader is the person doing the action. You should aim to use “you” in your writing to make the content more relevant to the reader.
Write clear instructions
The primary objective of user manuals is to help users complete tasks. Below are some guidelines to help you write clear and concise instructions.
- Use numbered lists for instructions unless the instruction includes a single step.
- Use parallel construction for each step. Usually, you should start each step with an imperative word, such as “Enter”, “Click”, “Select”, etc. When you start each step with an imperative word, you are providing the user with clear cues on the required action for each step.
- Avoid using a system response as a step. For example, don’t say, “The Info dialog window opens” as a step. You can incorporate system responses (when necessary) in the step that initiated the system response or you can mention the system response at the beginning of the following step, e.g. “In the Info dialog window, …”.
- Provide just enough information so that the user can complete a task or understand a concept. Omit any extraneous information that the user does not need to know. Concise content makes it easier to understand concepts and tasks.
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Establish standards
When creating documentation, there will be areas where there may be more than one way to spell a word, refer to an object, caption graphics, punctuate sentences, lay out a page, and organize information. These are just a few of the decisions that writers must make when they create documents. By establishing standards, the writer’s job becomes much easier since most of those decisions will have been already made.
The Chicago Manual of Style and Microsoft Manual of Style are two popular style guides. If you use an established style guide, you may still need to establish some specific guidelines for your writing project. As you encounter any issues with styles, you can create your own additional style rules that address the specific needs of your project.
If you would like to become a technical writer, you may want to consider registering for our Professional Technical Writing Course. It is an online course where you will learn how to write and revise instructions, technical reports, and software manuals (key technical writing documents).
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Even if your business has only a handful of employees, keeping your basic policies and procedures well documented through an employee handbook and procedures manual is always a good practice. Whatever effort may be required to get basic company information in print or on your intranet can save you time and headaches down the road.
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The following list gives advice for creating an employee handbook and separate procedures manual:
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Separate company policies from job-specific procedures. Your employee handbook should consist of policies that apply to everyone in the company (general hours, payroll, vacation time, and so on). Set forth in a separate manual or other format those procedures that relate specifically to how people do their individual jobs.
Keep it simple. Employee manuals don’t need to be literary works, but they do need to be clear and concise. Use plain English and try to avoid overly formal, bureaucratic wording and phrasing. You may want to consider hiring a professional writer to polish your final draft.
Pay attention to legalities. Here’s some scary news: Anything that you put in writing about your company’s policies or procedures automatically becomes a legal document. Numerous cases have occurred in which discharged employees received large settlements because they proved in court that either they were following procedures published in the company handbook or the company itself didn’t comply with these procedures.
Also, some laws require that if a company has a handbook or manual of policies, certain policies — with certain key elements addressed — must be included (for example, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act).
Play things safe. Make sure that a knowledgeable and experienced lawyer reviews the employee handbook and any procedures manuals before you publish them — and then ensure that your company’s day-to-day practices match its written policies and procedures.
Control the distribution. Every employee who receives an employee handbook should sign a document that acknowledges her receipt of the handbook and that she has read and understands its contents.
In the document, she also should attest that she is required to work under its policies and that she knows the handbook is not a contract of employment in any way. The document the employee signs should include that the company, in its discretion, may change its policies in the future from time to time — and such changes will apply to her.
Put the signed form in the worker’s employee profile. You may need it in the event of a disciplinary proceeding or lawsuit.
You don’t want the manual to circulate outside the company — and the manual needs to contain a clear statement to this effect. You may want to require your employees to turn in their handbooks before leaving the company, especially if it details your operational procedures, contains trade secrets, or includes confidential or proprietary information. Igloo portable ice maker manual.