USER MANUAL

User manuals or instruction manuals are usually found along with various products, such as
consumer electronics like televisions, consoles, cellphones, kitchen appliances, and more.
• Serves as a complete guide on how to use the product, how to maintain it, clean it, and
more.
• All technical manuals, including user manuals, have to be extremely user-friendly.
• The technical writer has to write a manual so that even someone with zero experience can
use the product.
• The target audience of user manuals is complete novices, amateurs, and people using the
product/s for the first time
• Traditionally, user manuals have had text and diagrams to help the user understand.
• In recent times, user manuals have photographs, numbered diagrams, disclaimers, flow
charts, sequenced instructions, warranty information, troubleshooting guides, and contact
information.
 User Manual
• Technical writers have to work with engineers, programmers, and product designers to
ensure they don’t miss out on anything.
• The writer also anticipates potential issues common users may have by using the product
themselves first.
• That helps them develop a first-hand experience, ultimately leading to developing better
user manuals.
• The point of the user manual isn’t to predict every possible issue or problem.
• Most issues are unpredictable and are better left to be handled by the customer support
or help desk.
• User manuals are there to address direct and common issues at most.
 STRUCTURE OF A USER MANUAL

INTRODUCTION
• The User Manual contains all essential information for the user to make full use of the
information system.
• Includes a description of the system functions and capabilities, contingencies and alternate
modes of operation, and step-by-step procedures for system access and use.
• Use graphics where possible iii this manual.
• The manual format may be altered if another format is more suitable for the particular
project.

Purpose and Scope

This section provides a description of the purpose and scope of the User Manual.
Organization

This section describes the organization of the User Manual.

 STRUCTURE OF A USER MANUAL

Points of Contact
• This section identifies the organization codes and staff (and alternates if appropriate) who
may assist the system user.
• If a help desk facility or telephone assistance organization exists, describe it in this section.

Project References
• This section provides a bibliography of key project references and deliverables that have been
produced prior to this point in the system development process.

Primary Business Functions

• This section discusses the business perspective of the user’s primary’ responsibilities and
tasks as they are supported by the system.
• Introduce the business functions so that the focus may rest on the systematic steps to
support the business functions in later sections.
 STRUCTURE OF A USER MANUAL

Glossary
• This section provides a glossary of all terms and abbreviations used in the manual.
• If the glossary is several pages or more in length, it may he placed as an appendix.
 How to Write a User Manual

Identify the Audience

• Understanding who your audience is can be half the battle when writing a user manual.
• Identifying your audience helps you decide what type of information and how much detail
you need to include the manual as well as how the information should be presented

Define the Purpose of the Manual

• Make sure you know exactly what the manual’s readers need to learn how to do.
• There is a big difference between writing an instruction manual that focuses on explaining
how to use an item versus how to repair one

Identify the How-To Steps

• Start your first draft by making a list of all the steps that someone needs to follow to
perform whatever task(s) the manual is supposed to explain
 How to Write a User Manual

• Use the list of steps you created to try performing the tasks(s) yourself.
• Helps you determine if the list is sufficient as is or if changes need to be made

Formalize the Written Steps

• Take your latest draft and use your technical writing skills to translate them into the how-
to portion of the manual.
• Start with a complete list of supplies laid out so it’ll be easy for readers to pull together
what they need. Bullet points are good for this.
• The actual steps should be presented as a numbered list that readers can follow step by
step
 How to Write a User Manual

Develop Appropriate Graphics

• Once the steps have been laid out, consider where graphic elements can help make it
easier for readers to follow and apply them.
• Develop appropriate charts, graphs or illustrations to include in the text along with the
steps.

Write Other Sections of the Manual

• Once the main part of the instruction manual (the actual instructions) has been written,
focus your attention on crafting the other sections of the topic.
• At a minimum, you’ll need an introductory section and a conclusion.
• The introduction of a user manual usually begins with a message of appreciation to users
for selecting the product and a general product overview.
• The conclusion usually ends with details on how to contact the company, as well as
information about the warranty and any disclaimers that might be needed
 How to Write a User Manual
Be Brief and Detailed
• User manuals need to be brief and detailed.
• Whatever sections are included, they should be written in a technical writing style that
focuses on conveying maximum information in as few words as possible.
• Being wordy just to add content and to make the manual longer is never recommended.

Format for Readability

• Covering all the key information readers need is critical for a user manual, but the
document also has to be user-friendly and easy to follow. This means formatting the
document with readability in mind.
• Choose an appropriate font- Calibri/ Times New Roman
• Depending on your audience, you may need to use a larger font.
• Use headings to highlight transitions from one section to another.
• Include subheadings within heading sections as needed.