Writing Helpful Help ? A Minimalism Checklist

User documentation is all too often written by programmers for programmers. It tends to focus on the product's features, rather than the user's tasks. Generally, programmers aren't in the ideal position to be writing user documentation. They're too close to the bits and bytes, and they're too far from the user. To them, what the product can do tends to be far more important than what the user can do with the product.

It's a subtle ? but vital ? distinction. Research shows that the key to effective user documentation is writing task oriented help. Even better, write your help according to the minimalist theory. In the documentation world, "minimalism" is a fancy word for a commonsense practice. In basic terms, it means write to your reader and keep it simple.

The theory itself has a lot of twists and turns. If you want to read a great ? but slightly wordy ? book on the subject, check out the book "Minimalism Beyond the Nurnberg Funnel", 1998, edited by John Carroll.

In the meantime, if you can tick every item in the following checklist, you'll be well on your way to usable online help that both your readers and your managers will thank you for.

Helpful Help Checklist

1. Base the help on real tasks (or realistic examples)

2. Structure the help based on task sequence ? Chapter headings should be goals and topics should be tasks

3. Respect the reader's activity ? this is generally more about what you don't do than what you do. Don't waste the reader's time by diving off into tangents

4. Exploit prior knowledge and experience ? Draw the reader's attention to previous tasks, experiences, successes, and failures

5. Prevent mistakes - "Ensure you do x before doing y"

6. Detect and identify mistakes - "If this fails, you may have entered the path incorrectly"

7. Fix mistakes - "Re-enter the path"

8. Provide error info at end of tasks where necessary (rule of thumb, one error info note per three tasks is a good average)

9. Don't break up instructions with notes, cautions, warnings, and exceptional cases - Put these things at the end of the instruction, wherever possible

10. Be brief, don't spell everything out, especially things that can be taken for granted

11. Omit conceptual and note information where possible, or link to it. Perhaps provide expansion information at the end of the topic, plus maybe a note that there are other ways to perform the task/goal, but this is the easiest

12. Sections should look short and read short

13. Provide closure for sections (e.g., back to original screen/goal)

14. Provide an immediate opportunity to act and encourage exploration and innovation (use active invitations to act, such as, "See for yourself..." or "Try this..." rather than passive invitations such as, "You can...")

15. Get users started quickly

16. Allow for reading in any order - make each section modular, especially goals, but perhaps tasks (definitely if they can be performed in different order)

17. Highlight things that are not typical

18. Use active voice rather than passive voice

19. Try to account for the user's environment in your writing

20. Before writing anything, ask yourself "Will this help my reader?"

By building these practices into your documentation process, you'll find that your online help becomes easier to write, shorter, and far more usable for your reader. What's more, your boss will love you!

About The Author

* Glenn Murray is an SEO copywriter and Article Submission Specialist. He is a director of PublishHub and also of copywriting studio Divine Write. He can be contacted on Sydney +612 4334 6222 or at glenn@divinewrite.com. Visit http://www.divinewrite.com or http://www.publishhub.com for further details, more FREE articles, or to purchase his e-book, 'SEO Secrets'.

---

5 Easy Steps To Writing Your Appealing Letter

You must write a hypnotic persuasion letter to help you... Read More

How To Co-Publish For Profits!

The Benefits of Co-Publishing There are a number of publishers,... Read More

Is The Theme Reinforced In The Ending?

Creative Writing Tips ?By now you should have an idea... Read More

Gut Check: Quitting Your Full-time Job for Your Freelance Career

It's 6:00 p.m. You're dead tired, but instead of an... Read More

Teachers Should Write, During Their Summers

Before I became a teacher, I was a sports writer.... Read More

Do You Know What A Plot Is?

Creative Writing Tips ?What a plot is and what a... Read More

The Three Cs of Writing an Excellent all Purpose Headline

Since the headline is the first contact your readers have... Read More

Is The Theme Running Throughout The Story?

Creative Writing Tips ?It's no use coming up with a... Read More

Good Writing

Good writing is like sex. Two people are involved ?... Read More

What Does It Take To Make Your Memories Into Publishable Memoirs?

Why should you consider creating a memoir of your personal... Read More

Grow Your Ideas Without Letting Words Grow Like Weeds

Q: How do I expand on an idea without getting... Read More

Ten Ways to Get Cheap (and Free) Magazine Samples

1 - Join a reading or writing group. Ask members... Read More

Where to Look for Your Next Project when You?re Writing for Profit

When my first book "Starting Your Own Business" was published... Read More

5 Effective Web Writing Tips

Writing for the web is very different from writing for... Read More

Top Seven Ways to Select a Book Topic That Sells

Authors need to write their book according to their target... Read More

Self-Examination

Self-examination sheds light on a writers motives, goals, and aspirations,... Read More

Writing Business Letters That Get The Job Done

Despite the widespread use of e-mail in commerce today, traditional... Read More

Zany Ideas That Increase Writing Productivity And Quality

Welcome to the zany ideas of a productive writer. My... Read More

Writers: Dr. Phil Goes Fishing with Oprah in His Tackle Box, Shouldn?t You?

Dr. Phil's Life Strategies, #1 New York Times Bestseller catches... Read More

Have You Tested Your Plot?

Creative Writing Tips ?Our plotting stage is our testing area.Everything... Read More

How To Break Into Print Publishing

The big question. Do you submit directly to the publishers,... Read More

6 Ways to Jump-Start Your Writing Day

1. PLAY A GAME LIKE SOLITAIRE....for half an hour or... Read More

The Hard Facts About Editing

Whether you're interviewing for a new job, trying to woo... Read More

Top Ten Ways to Write a Book That Sells

Is there a book inside of you? Yes? Then why... Read More

Piecing It All Together

There's a little known secret we writers like to keep... Read More

Tips for First Time Authors : 2 Easy Steps to Make Your First Book a Success

Congratulations on writing your first book. That is quite an... Read More

Screenwriting and Screenwriters ? beyond Syd Field

Without denigrating the work and contribution of Syd Field to... Read More

The Many Paths to Plotting

For several years before I left teaching to write full... Read More

Friendly Critiques

When a writer is working on their next literary masterpiece... Read More

Mind Mapping Your Journal Entries

Clustering, also called Mind Mapping, is a great way to... Read More

Aesop, Abraham Lincoln, and You

May I tell you about a writing technique shared by... Read More

Baby Boomers and Booklets ? Share and Share Alike

As one of those fabulous Baby Boomers, you now own... Read More

Hey Cient, this is Me! Find Your Writing Voice and Sell Yourself

In a crowded market, clients will be seeking personality as... Read More