English 421Y: Technical Writing Online

The prevailing notion about technical instructions is that they are superfluous, and only for those who are unable to understand a particular process or product. Often, users never read technical instructions at all. Jim Gee argues in his book What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy that successful video games teach people how to play as they are playing. After all, few people crack open their copy of Halo III or Shadow of the Colossus and read the instruction manual first thing. (Jeremy does, but he's a design freak.) Most people pop the game into the console, and then later consult the manual if they have problems.

Instructions get a bad rap for a reason. Many of the stereotypes about them are accurate—they are often confusing and unusable. Instructions are frequently poor because they are systems centered—that is, they are catered to the device or process and not to the audience. Instructions that suit their audience's needs and expectations are going to be much more useful than those that don't. That is why we're asking you to do some basic usability testing in this project so that you get an idea of how actual users will work with your materials.

Instructions often have any combination of three problems, all of which we want you avoid in your projects:

Problem 1:

Instructions do not account for audience. As mentioned above, many instructions take no actual account of who will use them. Recently, our friend Ryan tried to change the oil in a 1986 Plymouth Reliant using instructions that asked him to locate the oil drain plug. Ryan doesn't know much about cars, and didn't automatically know what a drain plug looks like. Unfortunately, there was little in the manual to identify what the drain plug was, what it looked like, or where it was located. (Also, the instructions referred to the part as the oil drain plug, the drain plug, and the plug alternatively, which is a horrible idea. Choose one term and stick with it to build up consistency.) Ryan ended up loosening many things underneath the car before he found the drain plug. So he eventually accomplished the step, but it was a time-consuming and exasperating process, which of course established a negative frame for his relationship with the instructions for the rest of the process.

The difference between systems-centered and user-centered instructions is the difference in reactions to this story. A systems-centered perspective would hear the story and say "Ryan is incompetent." It's true that Ryan doesn't know much about cars, but why should he be made to feel stupid? Why would any company ever want to make their customers uncomfortable? A user-centered perspective would say "Man, what horrible directions!" That's the difference, and it's crucial. User-centered directions, which are the kind you will be writing, account for who the audience might be. These considerations include:

• What are audience expectations? Good directions know how an audience will approach the task. When you get a video game, you are excited to play. So the directions should be aware that this is a fun activity but it may frustrate some users because, for example, game controllers can be exceedingly complex and contain numerous buttons. Directions should also be aware of genre. People who purchase Halo III or Shadow of the Colossus are a different audience than those that buy Wii Sports or Guitar Hero, and the instructions should suit the audience accordingly. (Indeed, how many of you reading this have no idea what we're talking about here; just like Ryan, we're all novices at something.) Directions for changing the oil should account for the fact that the audience is probably dreading the task (and performing it while underneath an automobile). Instructions for emergency procedures should account for the fact that the task will be performed in a pressure-filled life or death situation that offers readers no time to wade through dense prose. One of the most important things to understand is that often instructions have mixed audiences, but no writing is ever "for anybody." The "general audience" is a myth. Analyze your audience, context, and purpose and produce a corresponding document.
  
  
• What do audience members already know, and what do they need to know? It's safe to assume that people changing a car's oil already know a little about cars. They probably know that oil is important to the vehicle's function, and they probably know it should be changed periodically. It is likely that they have had their oil changed at a service station, and know about how long the process should take. They won't necessarily know that you need a new oil filter and oil wrench, how to pick out appropriate oil, where the oil drain plug is, how to dispose of the old oil, etc. They also need to know safety warnings about being careful under the car while it is on a jack. They don't really need to know how oil works in relation to the overall car system, or how oil is made, etc. So as you're writing instructions, think carefully. What does my audience already know? What do they need to know? What doesn't matter to them? Many experts writing instructions know much more than the audience. Much of the information experts know is not important for instructions because it's not necessary to the task. Much of the information experts take for granted is vitally important to the task and must be included. You will have to put yourself in the audience's shoes and determine what is necessary and what is not. This is harder than you might think. Chip and Dan Heath refer to this as the "curse of knowledge" in their book Made to Stick. They state: "Once we know something, we find it hard to imagine what it was like not to know it. Our knowledge has 'cursed' us. And it becomes difficult for us to share our knowledge with others, because we can't readily re-create our listeners' state of mind" (20). Importantly, our audience isn't stupid or deficient because they aren't familiar with a product or process that we take for granted. For example, it would be improper for us as instructors to view our students as flawed because they have not mastered something that we have yet to teach them. Similarly, you will have specialized knowledge that your audience does not have, but they are not deficient because of this. Rather, it is your task to communicate your knowledge to this audience. In a very real way, if they fail, it is as much your fault as it is theirs (just as if a student does poorly, it is a failure shared by both student and teacher).

Problem 2:

Instructions do not match real world experience. Recently our friend Anna was trying to assemble a fabric dog crate. The crate comes flat in the package and has to be expanded by bending metal bars that snap together to create a frame for the crate. The instructions show that you simply grab the bars, pull them up, and snap them together, and presto, it's done. The problem is that this action looks easy on the directions but is almost impossible in real life, so much so that Anna thought the crate was improperly manufactured. Eventually, she was able to get the bars together, but it was an unnecessary ordeal. The instructions should match as closely as possible the real world actions of the user. If they don't, users will get confused and angry. Usability testing is one of the best way to ensure a close connection between instructions and actions.

Problem 3:

Instructions are unappealing. Many people don't read instructions because they're so visually unappealing or intimidating that they don't want to bother with them. These online instructions about how to solve a Rubik's Cube are awful. They are almost impossible to read because of the background and text colors. They are not sequenced into any kind of steps that can be followed—everything is just thrown together in a big mess. They include no diagrams, which are vital to solving the Rubik's Cube puzzle (unless you are Will Smith). In short, no one will ever want to use these instructions. They would rather labor on without help then consult this monstrosity.

So many instructions are this way. They are filled with text that is daunting to the eye. They are full of technical jargon that intimidates the reader. They are not broken up in a logical sequence that is easy to follow. They include no pictures or graphics to aid the reader. They are not cleanly designed in a way that guides the eye. We expect your instructions to be well designed. The ultimate test of good design in instructions is that users want to use them and find them easy to use. One of the better technical documents we have seen is also one of the silliest: the safety warnings for a dryer featuring a cartoon sketch of the talking appliance telling readers not to let "birds or other critters nest in my vents!" This document is silly, but it catches the eye and promotes comprehension. We're not advocating that all your instructions include cartoon talking appliances. But, your instructions should make users want to read and use them. If they don't want to read them, they won't, and the instructions will be useless. To this end, we have assigned readings over design principles to help make your work appropriately appealing. This is also why we are asking you to change your document size from 8.5 by 11 to a document size that perfectly fits your object and context. Few instruction manuals are standard paper size, so we expect you to change it unless that size is absolutely necessary. If you don't cater your paper size, format, font, etc. to your specific needs, you are letting the defaults make your design decisions, which is not user centered. This means that you are not doing the rhetorical design work of the assignment, and your grade will lower accordingly. Look at the sample instructions from your usability tests to get some ideas of designs that you believe do and don't work. The best way to produce documents is to draw from good examples.

A few other quick notes on the project:

Graphics: We think this component of the project presents the greatest technical challenge for many of you, unless you can draw perfect schematics. Because of this, it may be beneficial to use screen captures in your instructions. On Windows machines, you can generally make screen captures by hitting the "ctrl" and "prnt scrn" keys together, which will copy the screen to the clipboard. You can then crop and edit the screen capture in photo editing software such as Photoshop or Fireworks, which are available on all university computers. On Macs, you can hit the "command," "shift," and "3" keys at the same time to save a screen capture as a file on your desktop. You may then edit the screen capture using the programs listed above. The only catch about screen captures is that they are low resolution and do not print out well. (You can contact your instructors about how to address this issue.) You are also free to take pictures for your graphics (please don't use a cell phone camera unless the quality is excellent). Pictures print very well, and you can borrow good digital cameras from Purdue's Digital Learning Collaboratory in Hicks Library. Make sure to take professional-looking pictures that are well lit and frame your object well. Remember, a big part of the grading criteria is the professional appearance of your document.

Safety Warnings: Safety warnings are an important part of instructions. Make sure to include the appropriate safety information in your instructions. For some of you, it will be life or death information about being careful under a car with a jack. For others, it will be cautions about not damaging your computer as you install new software. Whatever it is, safety labels have a tendency to be mocked by the general public. This article from CNN is a great example of that attitude. Sometimes product warnings are indeed ridiculous and treat the users like idiots, which violates a user-centered approach. However, they are an important inclusion for user safety and for legal reasons. Our guess is that most warnings exist because somewhere, somehow, somebody did the thing the warning says not to do. We remember people making fun of the warning on a Batman costume that said "Warning: Cape does not allow wearer to fly." But somewhere, some kid jumped off his parent's roof wearing the cape (which is doubly flawed, because Batman doesn't fly—at best he glides). Warnings are important for legal reasons, and lawyers and judges are a tertiary audience of many instruction documents. In your own work, make sure to find the right balance between ridiculous and necessary instructions.

Second Person: Even though this instructor blog uses second person (you) frequently, avoid it in your instructions. Instead of saying "You should open the drain valve," just write "Open the drain valve." This seems minor, but it really cleans up the prose and makes things more readable, which is the ultimate goal.

Good luck with the project. Contact your instructor with any questions.