GettingGetting Users StartedUsers Started

Instructor: Glenda H. EasterInstructor: Glenda H. Easter

ITSW 1410, Presentation Media ITSW 1410, Presentation Media SoftwareSoftware

A Meaningful First Step for Everyone

Every manual should have a Welcome or Read Me First section directing people where to start with a product.

An installation guide explains how to get a product ready to start.

Getting Started is essential for beginning and intermediate users.

A Quick Start Guide is effective with advanced users.

Meaningful First Step (Continued)

A disk based guided tour helps those who are fearful of computers.

A video is great if you have new features and tricks you want to promote.

Welcome Your Readers

A welcome section should capture each audience and put them on the correct path.

Soothe harried installers in your welcome section.

Installation Guide

Installation is the number one technical support problem.

Some companies change the procedures without changing the instructions.

Let your readers know what equipment that will best accommodate your software.

Aim the installation guide at all users.

Provide both detailed two kinds of installations instructions:Detailed for noviceGeneral for experienced users.

Installation Guide (Continued):

As writer of installation instructions, you need to provide the context for your readers.

Tell them which equipment the software has been designed for.

Tell the user how to perform a customized installation.

Tell the user what information they will need during the installation process.

Anticipate Problems That Never Arise

You don’t have the code numbers?

You don’t know where you want to store your program?

You don’t know what computer configuration is required?

You don’t know how much disk space is required?

Keep It Simple

Provide clear instructions. Separate the steps users must perform

from the explanations and test the sequence of instructions again and again.

Don’t give multiple ways to perform a task.

Don’t detour the reader about “neat new features.”

Start Beginners Smoothly

You don’t know why the user is using the product, so make sure that you have a structured introduction.

The “Getting Started” is virtually needed for all users.

And You Wonder Why the Customer is Frustrated?

You want the user to work with you and not against you. Win them over with your “Getting Started” instructions.

What Is Getting Started?

Getting started is a structured introduction to using the product.

It can take many forms--tutorials, procedures, or useful directions.

“Getting Started” should do just that--get a user from standing still to moving.

The tasks in the “Getting Started” must be central to the user’s understanding.

Getting Started

One final point: It is most useful when you can guide the

learner through by having them to complete an example you’ve started but not yet finished. This is especially the case when there is a great deal of typing involved.

Giving Advanced Users a Quick Start

A “Quick Start” is for knowledgeable, experienced, confident users. These users are sometimes called power users.

A “Quick Start” should be condensed and provide only the “how to” steps.

Quick Starts Are the Following

The user has used an earlier version of the product and only needs to know about the new features.

The user is familiar with the task domain and they are interested in how this program handles familiar tasks.

They are in a hurry to benefit from the product.

They read only the minimum to get going.

What Is a Quick Start?

A Quick Start booklet (rarely in a manual section)--except for this class provides: a bare-bones installation guide. a general overview. a quick set of basic procedures.

What Is a Quick Install?

A quick install is a stripped-down version of the installation instructions.

They are a written guide that may only list the information to be gathered before installing and provide page references.

Try to make a Quick Install no longer than one page.

A quick install normally performs most housekeeping and setup tasks automatically.

Follow The Rule of Three

Give the user only three things to remember: Here are the menus for these functions. Here are the commands you will use most

frequently. Try this first, then make your own

choices.

Concentrate on the Large Picture

Tell your readers the following: How to set up what needs to be set up. How to operate the program. How to finish with a printout or some

other desired result.

Critical Sequence of Actions

If the interface employs a critical sequence of actions, or if the program requires a particular concept be grasped, put the subject in its own section.

Brainstorming a Quick Start

The Quick Start is set up in stages. Each stage offers productive use of the

software and builds on the previous stage. The user should get increasing use out of

the product over time.

Guide Readers on a Tour

Don’t make your readers feel like they’ve been run over with a train.

A tour guide is an introduction to the look and feel of a program.

What is a Tour Guide?

A guided tour can illustrate and explain a program’s interface using a series of pictures.

What type of pictures do you use? Screen Shots with callouts Diagrams of the program structure Short descriptions of key benefits Summaries of key activities

Should I Devote a Great Deal of Time with a Guided Tour?

If you devote 6-12 (six to twelve) pages to a guided tour, you have used your pages wisely, especially if you are working with users who are new to the computer or the product.

Other Introductory Materials?

Videos and interactive tours on disk provide an accessible and attractive introduction to a product.

At a basic level, such materials can show people what the program looks like.

When Should I Include a Tour in My Documentation?

Use in your documentation suite when you want to:

Present the program’s main features with ease of use.

Powerfully illustrate the benefits of the program.

Communicate the feel of the program. Overcome reading problems of audience.

Coordinate Your Work with a Disk Tour

If the user is uncertain of how they wish to cover the material, you may want to use a computer-disk tour.

The after-purchase tour starts training people in ways to understand and use the product.

Final Wrap-Up

Welcome your readers A welcome section gets the user on the

right track fast.

Final Wrap-Up

When getting users started, your installation guide should: Address both expert and beginning audiences. Leave nothing out. Anticipate most problems and avoid them. Make the process simple.

Final Wrap Up

Your “Getting Started” booklet or chapter should: Illustrate the main aspects of the

product. Engage people with realistic tasks, Tell people what to do first, second, and third when beginning to use a product.

Final Wrap Up

If you prepare a Quick Start: Aim it at advanced users. Use broad strokes, or tell them how to concentrate on the big picture. Tell users where to go next. Tell beginners what to use instead.

Final Wrap Up

A Tour Guide should: Point out the highlights of the product. Familiarize newcomers with the lay of the land. Record messages in the most appropriate medium on the subject to meet the needs of your overall audience.

Have You Got It All Together?

You want your manual to stop all questions that the audience could encounter.

If you’ve performed that task, as Porky Pig would say….“Da, Da, Dhat’s all folks.”