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Subject:Quick Start Guides From:"M. David Orr" <whitears -at- INTERACCESS -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 21 Aug 1997 11:15:38 -0500
We write documentation and also perform usability tests on what we
write. Quick Start Guides have proven very usable. Optimal conditions
for the QS Guide:
* It is a small (under 30-pages), separate booklet.
* It has a mental model of the product at the very beginning. We often
do flow charts with screen captures, minimal text, two-page spreads, and
numbered steps. This is often enough for saavy users.
* It also has the five or six most important procedures that users are
likely to want to use right away.
* It doesn't try to explain every way to do the basic procedures, just
the easiest way.
--
M. David Orr
Orr & Associates/Usability Management
7366 N. Lincoln Ave Suite 101
Lincolnwood, IL 60646
Phone: 847-677-1920
Fax: 847-677-7878
Email: whitears -at- orrnet -dot- com
URL: http://www.orrnet.com
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