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How To Make Friends With Your User Manuals
By Adrienne Escoe, Escoe Bliss CommunicationThey're the first thing we see when we unpack a new computer or VCR, but the last thing we turn to when we're in trouble. What is it about user manuals that makes them so intimidating?
Here are some tips from successful manufacturers whose manuals reduce users' frustrations-and their time responding to SOS calls, faxes, and mail. User manuals as goodwill ambassadors? It's possible.
Mistake escapes
Include tips on undoing steps, particularly for long sequences of instruction. All humans at least occasionally press the wrong key or overlook a step. Help users undo missteps: Use call-out boxes, marginal notes, and other highlighted instructions.
Generous index
Test drive indexes with people who are unfamiliar with the product. Gather all the terms people could use to look up the same information. Don't be stingy with cross references. Case in point: At least six different terms are used for logging off, depending on the operating system:
bye
end
exit
logout
logoff
quit
Include synonyms, terms that are more general, and more specific words. Don't be afraid of redundancy. Remember that few people read an index like a novel. They read only the entries they need.
For example, include "Search" as well as "Find," "Preferences" as well as "Options." List subheadings by themselves as well as under other terms, for example, "Smart quotes" as an individual entry as well as "Smart" indented under "Quotes."
Be generous with cross-references. Include every possible way someone would think of looking up information. Don't forget to beef up the on-line help function, which is just an index in electronic clothing.
Finding information in a well-equipped user manual can be faster than getting a colleague's response to a user's voice mail message or a technical support person's live voice.