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Are Your Manuals a Last Resort?

If you're wondering why your Help Desk techies are begging for a break from frustrated users...it may be time to look at your user manuals.

• Are they written in normal, everyday language....or are they full of jargon, "alphabet soup," and fifty-cent words?
• Are they structured logically, so that information is easy to find...or do your users have to flip back and forth to find what they need?
• Do they have plenty of graphic aids - screen shots, tables, charts - or is every page gray with solid text?

Why is this important?

You see, your product manuals aren't about the product - they're about the users' relationship to the product.

Ignore them at your peril! A well-written technical document - whether it's a quick reference "cheat sheet," a full-size manual, or a training booklet - can not only save you Help desk dollars, but can also be a powerful friend to users of your products.

How powerful?

Well, I have seen user documentation featured as the key element of a civil lawsuit - and the case was won because a third-party evaluator rated the manuals as very user-friendly.

That was the most dramatic example I've experienced - but in 15 years of technical writing, I've seen over and over again that investing in a good manual for your product yields a rich payoff in Help Desk morale, savings on overtime, and especially user loyalty.

Here are some samples of my work....

Intro to Technical Writing - workbook used as the basis for a one-week high-school intensive, previewing the tech-writing profession.

Standards and Case Mix Adjustment Methods - excerpt from a power users' manual for a knowledge-management system used by health care administrators.

General Process Description, Flue Gas Conditioning System - excerpt from an operator's manual for an advanced air-pollution control system.

Isn't it time for your users to have a friendly manual or two?

Give your users - and your Help Desk folks! - a break. Contact me, and let's start to reduce their stress today!