Customer Satisfaction Lessons Learned from Building Furniture with Wordless Documentation  

Documentation and package design play a major role in customer satisfaction. The author tested three sets of wordless documentation by building pieces of furniture from three different manufacturers. While the construction methods, packaging, and wordless documentation methods were on the surface very similar, small differences had a significant impact on the usability of the instructions and the overall customer satisfaction with the documentation and the product. Decisions that were handled differently included visual verification of parts, whether or not extra hardware was provided and how it was provided, the appropriateness of the hardware, the quality of the hardware, the need for additional tools, and the care evidenced in packaging and labeling of parts. From these experiences, she makes recommendations for enhancing customer satisfaction that apply not just to wordless documentation, but to other consumer products.

Norris Bradford, Annette. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Documentation>Technical Illustration>User Experience

Photo-Tracing

One of the most effective methods of creating a technical illustration is the photo-tracing technique.

ITEDO Software (2001). Articles>Documentation>Technical Illustration

Pictures for Procedures  

Illustrations for procedural documents should show actions from the mental perspective of people carrying them out. Illustrations also should take into account the twodimensional displays of printed documents and computer screens by orienting critical body positions and movements across displays.

Krull, Robert. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Documentation>Technical Illustration

Using Comics in Technical Documentation

This article is based on the research and feedback I received from a number of user experience designers, usability specialists, product developers and writers, which led me to engage in a dialogue with the users.

Gupta, Rajeep. Usability Interface (2007). Articles>Documentation>Technical Illustration>User Experience

Wordless Manuals: Replacing Words with Pictures  

How do you convey an entire set of complex instructions without words, and why would you even bother? Since he first quipped this question, Patrick Hofmann has deleted countless words from the pages of hardware user manuals. Patrick is a technical illustrator and writer who, with the help of his team at Quintext information engineering in Waterloo, Canada, creates wordless documentation and visual solutions for his clients. In this session, you will learn what he learned: how to use wordlessness to downsize multi-lingual sets of assembly manuals, and how to illustrate complex instructions with the same concern for usability as we have with writing.

Hofmann, Patrick. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Documentation>Technical Illustration

A Photo Essay of Classic Instruction Manuals

How do you run the A/C on a spy plane? Where's the Start button on a nuclear power plant? Don't try to wing it—read the directions! A portfolio of classic instruction manuals.

Honan, Mathew. Wired (2008). Articles>Documentation>Technical Illustration>History

Do Screen Captures Still Make Sense?

Writing more simply helps keep content more manageable and can increase its usability. So why do we continue to litter content with screen captures, which can be difficult to manage and often duplicate what users already see in application interfaces?

Masalsky, Paul. Content Wrangler, The (2009). Articles>Documentation>Technical Illustration>Screen Captures

Screen Shots in Documentation

Just as I would with words, I'll cut out the obvious and whatever does not add value. I prefer an additive approach (put it in only when the words seem inadequate) over a subtractive approach (take it out if it seems superfluous). In other words, I'll be more open to screen shots in the future, but they have to work themselves into the document, not just be their by entitlement until expelled.

Hughes, Michael A. User Assistance (2009). Articles>Documentation>Technical Illustration>Screen Captures

So What’s Up with Screen Captures?    

In this first column on media matters, Lee discusses screen captures, including quality, manipulation, file type, file size, and more.

Lee, Marc. Intercom (2009). Articles>Documentation>Technical Illustration>Screen Captures