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Writing an instruction manual
Writing an instruction manual is a serious business. More often than not, the first experience for a customer is not with the product itself, but with its instruction manual. In order to to make a customer journey as pleasant as possible, the instruction manual should be an integral part of any product experience. This implies that any company selling hardware or software, should plan the production of an instruction manual as early as possible. This is the best guarantee that the manual will be up to standard. What ‘up to standard’ means, should become clear in this article.
Read moreHow to write a technical manual
What is technical manual writing? This all boils down to the question: what is a technical manual? ‘Technical manual’ is a term for any manual with a technical character. You could think of a manual (or set of manuals) for a complicated machine like an airplane. You could also think of technical manuals to run a complete industrial installation.
Read moreWhat are good product instructions?
Good product instructions are worth every penny and more than that. How come? One just has to think of the reduction in costs for any helpdesk if product instructions are both complete and understandable. Although opinions differ, the reduction in costs for a helpdesk could be close to 60%. How to write good product instructions?
Read moreExamples of QSG
Quick start guides are becoming more popular by the day. This statement somehow suggests that quick start guides are still in their infancy. This, in turn, may imply that there are not that many examples of high-quality quick start guides around. Both assumptions do not do justice to the current situation regarding QSGs. Yes, one can find some fine examples of high-quality quick start guides in the outside world. And yes, this implies that quick start guides already have a proven track record. This article focuses on two distinctive examples of high-quality quick start guides.
Read moreQuick start guide
The word ‘quick start guide’ says it all: with a ‘QSG’ a user should be able to operate his newly acquired product within – say – the blink of an eye. As such, a quick start guide takes away the worries about a steep learning curve. After all, a full-blown manual can scare people off, especially if it consists of tens of pages. Here lies the reason that a quick start guide – quite often not more than a folded card – is becoming more popular by the day.
Read moreHow to write technical documentation
When writing technical documentation, please take at least three principles into account. But before applying these principles, it is important to know which legal requirements should be met in your manual.
Read moreLooking for an installation manual?
Why should one need an installation manual? After all, installing a pump or fence does not need that much explanation if the correct amount of nuts and bolts are part of the package. Why, then, bother about providing a separate installation manual? The prejudice that you don’t need an installation manual in any shape or form is persistent. But it is really foolish to leave an installation manual aside. The reason is clear. That reason is called: safety
Read moreManual
What makes a manual a good manual? There is a broad consensus on this. Agreed: It's true that there are as many writing styles as there are different tastes. But that does not alter the fact that a limited number of writing rules determine what is a good manual and what is not.
Read moreExamples Manuals
Manuals present themselves in all kinds of shapes and sizes: quick start guides, installation manuals, help files in a software application, checklists, online e-learning webpages, instruction videos, augmented reality instructions, reference cards… Manualise can help you setting up any of these manuals – including user manuals of course. Let us give you some examples of the manuals we have set up so far.
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