Documentation Usability Tips

Documentation is the written text that accompanies a product. It provides the product users with assistance in using the product and eases their process of getting used to that product. It consists of product specifications, description of the product architecture, reference manuals, tutorials, troubleshooting information and code documentation in case it is a software product. For the documentation to be usable, it has to be written with clarity and precision. It has to carry clear and consistent instructions about the product. The code documentation should carry an explicit explanation of the actions performed by the code, the functionality provided by the code and its intent. Product code is not the language of a common man. For users to understand the code, it has to be supplemented with suitable documentation. Documentation helps explain to the users, the functions performed by the product and the ways to implement the its functionality. Documentation guides the users to perform operations on the product and explains them the way to perform them. Nowadays, product documentation is also comprised of online help, tutorials and help manuals to help the users know the product.

The usability of any documentation lies in the contents it covers and the way in which the contents are put before the users of the product. The popularity of a product is tightly bound to ease with which the product can be used and the means by which this ease is communicated to the users is documentation. Documentation should not be an afterthought; it is a process that should be carried out in synchronization with the product development. The product features and functions need to be incorporated in its documentation. Let us see some of the documentation usability tips.

Know Your Users
The usability of documentation is about understanding the needs of the audience. Before you begin creating the documentation, it is important to know who the readers are and what they expect from the document. Understand the cultural and educational backgrounds of your audiences. A document for marketing people has to be worded differently than that for technical people. The way of presenting information will vary depending on whether the audiences are novice users of expert ones. During the process of creating the documentation, it is good to keep confirming whether the documentation is adhering to its intended customers' needs.

Design the Document Structure and Form
The structure of the document should be planned in advance. The user manuals should have a table of contents and a glossary. The intent of documentation is to make it easy for the users to read and understand it. The table of contents should be used to give the user a brief idea about the major topics covered in the document. The information in the document should be well organized. Do not ignore the physical layout of the documentation. Decide the way to break down the information and present it effectively to the readers. Commercial products often provide the user with an alphabetical list of the product functions and its explanations. Printed matter and online help are the two forms of presenting the information. Choose the form that best suits your users' needs. Online documentation is often used to improve usability as it becomes readily accessible.

Make it Interesting
It is important for the document writers to word the documentation in such a way that it invites interest of the readers. You can use scenes or scenarios to make the instructions clearer. Use present tense and active voice so that the writings make a direct address to the readers. To help people better understand your concepts and ideas, present your information in the form of stories or narratives. Scenarios and walkthroughs make good ways of presenting product information. They can be supplemented by illustrations or screenshots of the design.

Think the Users' Way
When you put yourself into the users' shoes, you understand how the users think and act. The documentation should cater to the users' way of thinking and possible interaction while using such a product. Hence you need to expect errors, errors which the users would most probably make while using the product for the first time. Offer troubleshooting information in the documentation. Providing solutions to commonly occurring problems and the most probable mistakes of users, adds to the usability of the documentation. The users need to know what to do in times of difficulty while using the product.

Catering to the users’ expectations and clarity in expression are the keys to documentation usability.