Tip of the month from PRC
March 1998

Quick Guides

Released 2 March 1998
Linguistic amendments: 4 March 1998

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Tip of the month is edited by Peter Ring, PRC (Peter Ring Consultants, Denmark)
- consultants on how to write user friendly manuals

Thanks to Alexia Prendergast and David Orr for inspiration to this month tip !

Two types of quick guides

"Quick Guides" has many other names, too, for example "How to get started" or "Short form manual". But basically the idea is the same: To make the most important info about the product more visible, and easier and more tempting to access. A quick guide is typically a good idea when the main manual is above approx. 30-40 A4 or letter format pages.

Basically, there are two types of Quick guides ...

"Quick Start" manuals incl. "Installation" and "Simple Use",
"Short form reference" manuals,

... with very different purposes.

The "Quick Start" manual

The purpose of the Quick Start manual is to make sure that the user installs the product correctly and gets started using it.

In most cases this is considered a part of the main manual. But a lot of experiences says, that if the total manual is more than about 40 to 100 pages, it helps to make it a separate manual that will not look so scary. It simply increases the chances for this info being read. And believe it or not, in my courses I have even met several technical writers, who claim that they will never open a large manual - they give up on first, based on their bad experiences in the past.

The "Quick Start" manual is used by the normal user in the installation and first learning period. But the "simple procedures" part of the "Quick Start" manual is often also used by users who need to use the product in a very basic way - the "occasional user".

The classical example of the "occational user" is the managing director who are in his office on a Sunday morning just before an intercontinental flight and want to send a fax. He does not have time to search through a 350 page manual including info on how to send a document to a large number of receivers, or how to programme the list of fax numbers. He just wants to know how to send two pages to a number written on his hand-written note. And he needs the instructions now, because he needs to leave for the airport in 10 minutes. A "Simple Use" sheet is just what he wants and needs.

The "Simple Use" and the "How to Get Started" manual may be two separate manuals or sheets.

The short form reference manual

The purpose of the short form reference manual is to act as a memory prostetis to the normal or advanced users' brain while using the product.

Many products has a lot of complicated procedures to be followed that are not obvious to the user. Typical examples are software shortcuts (like Ctrl+Alt+H), menus in a telefax (how to switch to summer/wintertime), or (error) codes on a central heating controller. You don't need a lot of words here. Keep it very short, and use tables, flowcharts, and/or keywords.

The short form reference manual is normally used by the experienced user who just simply can't remember everything by heart. Very often it is a laminated 1 sheet manual, or a small folder mounted on the product.

What should be MY solution?

There are no general answer to that question. It depends on the product, how complicated it is, how user friendly the user interface is, who the different groups of users are - or could be - etc.

Use your imagination and the User Map from the first "Tip of the month" January 1996 !

If you disagree with these ideas - or have other relevant points, experiences, or ideas +/-, please e-mail me !

Ideas for new "Tip of the month" subjects are VERY welcome, too!