Quick Reference Guides: Short and Sweet Technical Documentation
http://www.gryphonmountain.net/TJohnson-BMinson-QRGs-WebDownload.pdf

Johnson, Tom H. and Benjamin Minson
Gryphon Mountain
2009

Abstract:

Users often want documentation in a format that will give them the basics and get them on their way as fast as possible. Quick reference guides provide a short version of a manual, condensed from dozens or hundreds of pages down to just one double-sided sheet of paper. Despite the brevity of quick reference material, the thought process involved in creating, organizing, and laying out the content is time consuming. The format requires you to assess the content and decide the most important information the user needs to know. You must describe with extreme concision and clarity processes that usually require dozens of pages to explain. This article provides an overview of the strategies, tips, challenges, and benefits we have learned in using quick reference guides for our documentation projects.