User guides are the first port of call when something needs to be read. As many people read the user guide when frustrated and after loosing patience with their software, you need to write your material so that it addresses their concerns quickly. User guides are often written for non technical individuals.
Identifying your audience – as with all types of writing, the first step is to define your target audience. As different readers have different requirements, you need to consider their specific requirements:
- Identify who the target audience will be
- Identify the technical knowledge of the target audience
- Identify how they will use the guide
For a game to function, the user needs to carry out specific actions. Users want to know what to do to better understand the game and how to advance, for example, how to score bonus points.
They are not generally interested in the nitty gritty technical details, they just want to know how to click a button and get the result. The user guide is to teach them how to accomplish almost everything possible with the game. Each user guide consists of a front cover/content page, body section and a back page.
It is also a good habit to use images of elements from the game which you may be referring to, rather than to describe them as it give the user a visual of what you are referring to.
Identifying the task – When writing a procedure, attempt to identify what the task is before addressing it. If it is a major task then separate it in to sub tasks before approaching them methodically. You also want to avoid text walls as the last thing the user wants is to be overwhelmed.
If-Then approach – When users are allowed to make decisions, make use of the If-Then approach to show the different result of each decision they make.
“If you go up then you will enter the bonus round. If you continue on straight then you will enter the next round.”
Addressing the user – When writing procedures, use the active voice (e.g. Click this) and address users directly, e.g. write ‘You’ rather than ‘the User’.
When explaining an action, use the ‘command’ form of the verb:
“Choose an option from the menu and press [ENTER].”
Presenting your material – You can improve the readability of your pages by using specific formats to distinguish different types of information.
For example, you can distinguish the users input from the systems response by:
- Indenting text
- Using columns to layout text
- Providing illustrations that highlight key areas
- Using different font types and features (e.g. bold, italics and underline)
Non verbal devices, such as icons and diagrams, help supplement verbal instructions.
Left: Clean and segregated help menu http://www.dalasoft.co.uk/thetimepro/images/HelpScreen.png Right: Information overload on a help screen http://daringfireball.net/misc/2009/03/gpsguide-help.jpg
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