The main thing that I took from these long readings was the fact that the writer of technical instructions needs to keep in mind what their audience’s needs and expectations are when they read their instructions. When you create your instructions you need to ask who, why, what, where, when, and how the reader will be using your instructions.
In my eyes one of the most important things to keep in mind when creating instructions would be to stay user centered. They are the ones who are actually going to be using your instructions and the ones who need to know something. Just because you are an expert in a certain field or area does not mean that somebody else is, and that is how you need to think when creating technical instructions. Something I took from the readings was that you do not need to teach someone how the system itself works, but how to make the actual system work in the correct manner.
Instructions need to be able to account for many different types of audiences using them. When creating instructions the writer should put themselves in the shoes of the two different ends of readers, one who has no clue about the subject and another who is an expert in the area. In my eyes they best set of instructions would be one that is easily read by both opposite ends of the spectrum. One of the hardest things about this project and creating instructions will be keeping it easy and simple, while still successfully helping the reader.
Writing to different levels of technical expertise is going to prove to be quite a task. The easiest way I can think of would be to use the correct terms and descriptions of things, but make sure that they are all described in full detail, shown in pictures, and/or shown in the way they will be used. If you tell an automobile novice what a drive shaft they will have no clue, but if you show them a picture of it and how it’s used then they will understand, while an expert will know right away what a drive shaft is. Correctly describing the items and steps in your instructions will prove to be one of the most important aspects of this project.
Follow the pictures
I agree that the most important thing to remember when writing instructions is to stay user-centered. This ties back to the very first readings for this class in thinking about your audience. It is possible that the people that are coming up with these products are so intelligent, that they can't 'dummy' themselves down enough as to think like a person who has no idea how to put something like this together. Though I doubt it.
In thinking about instructions accounting for all different types of audiences using them, an effective technique would be to have very explicit instructions in the normal sized font and basic steps in a larger font with pictures next to them. That way, the user who has no idea about the product can both see pictures and read explicit directions and the user that is familiar with the product can just follow along with the pictures.
Numbers, Bold Font, Picture, Description....AGREE
I really don’t think that the people who are making these products have any problem dumbing their instructions down at all, because they probably have had years of experience doing it or have been trained to think like a person who has no experience in the field.
In my eyes my instructions will look a lot like what you described in your response. They would have big bold font with simple/basic instructions that follow a numerical pattern and pictures describing each step. Then I would go into greater detail about each step in a smaller and less pronounced font to make the instructions easier to read and more user friendly.
test first
I agree that there should be a certain “format” to instructions, making it easier for people to see and read the instructions. I know we have all seen good and bad instructions but it makes you wonder how there can be such a big gap. Is the company trying to save money by having poorly written instructions? Maybe they do the bare minimum just so they can say they shipped their product with instructions, to keep the customer happy. I always wondered if companies have screening sessions for their instructions. Maybe if they had a test group read the instructions and try to use their product they would see that the instructions are not as intuitive as once they thought.