![]() ![]() Use consistent layout from page to page.Provide a section (or margins) for the users to make their own notes.Provide plenty of white space between sections and around images and paragraphs. ![]() Font weight can be used sparingly to denote importance.Ensure high text-to-background contrast (black on white is best).Ensure that font size is adequate (use at least 12 point font).In addition to effective instructing, the use of colour, the text and fonts used, and the icons and graphics can all either make for an easy experience or can derail the user. How to design individual pages in the user manual It is easy to jump into the user manual half way through a task.It is easy to break out of task and get back in.It is easy to work through the task from start to finish.Have an independent user then follow the steps (literally) with the product and check that: Write the steps to task completion while doing the actual task on a real product.Write in the present tense and the active voice.Usability test the instructions alongside the product using naive users (not designers or product experts).Do not assume the user has prior experience or product knowledge.Explain symbols, icons and codes early.Check that the instructions match the actual product.Explain what a function or feature is for (in basic practical terms) as well as "How to" instructions.Use everyday words and terms: avoid jargon.Follow the timing and sequencing of the actual operations.Provide step-by-step sequences in the correct order.Here are some guidelines to help make instructions easy on the user. Many user manuals have instructions that are incomplete, incorrect, or simply have no bearing on It is critical that the instructions are easy to read and are understandable by all users. Avoid duplicate page numbering in multi-language guides (better still, avoid multi-language).Ĭlearly this is the primary role of the user manual.Avoid unnecessarily cross-referencing to other parts of the user manual.Make the quick start guide readily accessible.Include a (genuinely useful) trouble-shooting section.Ensure that the index includes likely synonyms.Provide a key word index using the terminology of the user.Work with real users to identify likely key words (these can be learned during usability testing).Denote importance by using contrast, colour, shading, emboldening etc.Code the hierarchy with tabs, colours etc.Will help users find what they are looking for. Often this is due to the fact that the key words the writer has used are not the key words that users may search for. Users quickly get frustrated when they cannot find what they are looking for in the user manual. Make effective use of pictures and diagrams.The user manual should not be too big or too heavy.Make purposeful and effective use of colour.Use paper that is commensurate with the quality of the product.Avoid a text-book look (landscape formatting can be less threatening).Get past this point the user manual must make a strong and positive first impression. When this happens, the user, the product and the writing team all suffer in some way. It is often tossed aside as being either secondary, or just too difficult to deal with. Many users never actually get as far as the user manual. User-test the product and the user manual with real users (including disabled users).Consider the needs of disabled users (i.e., low vision, colour-blind) and provide alternative manuals in Braille, large print, audio etc.Make sure the writers have the product, understand the product, and actually use the product as they write.Write the user manual in synch with the product's development timeline not under pressure of shipping deadlines.Ensure that the writers are part of the product design team.but avoid marketing waffle (they already bought the product!) Tell the user what functions there are, and what they are for not just how to use them.Present instructions as step-by-step procedures.Make sure the instructions actually map on to the product in all respects.Provide a real (physical) user manual with the product: don't make people read a pdf.We have arranged the tips into the following sections: Our own experience of user testing various kinds of user manuals and documentation and seeing what works and what doesn't.Aspects of human perception, cognition and psychology as it pertains to reading. ![]()
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