I want to create a user manual that will teach a user how to install CentOS on their current computer. It is a free Linux operating system. I have installed this operating system a few times during my computer career and it would help me write the document to a novice user who never has done installed their own OS (operating system) before.
My major is also Computer and Information Technology so I have some experience with computers.
It would be for the type of person who always has their operating system already installed when they buy their computer. For the more advance user they have probably installed a few operating systems in their time but not CentOS. They would use this guide as handy reference as what to do during parts they might not have seen before in an operating system. Both users would want the end result of a working operating system.
Some graphics I would use would be installation screens with helpful information on them as a few parts could be a bit confusing to a person that does not know what they are doing. Overall I believe this instruction guide will help both types of users in acquiring a new operating system.
Instructor Feedback: Jeff
This appears to be both a feasible and necessary project. What I would like to see is a clearer distinction between the audiences and concrete plan for creating two distinct instruction sets. It is vitally important to your project's success that you produce two clearly distinct instruction sets. The worry here is that the difference between the two will be one of degree (that is, the expert set will simply be a truncated version of the novice set); we are expecting a difference in kind (the expert set should be qualitatively different from the novice set). Be sure you are able to differentiate the two sets in this way.
You write that, "Both users would want the end result of a working operating system." While this is certainly true, each audience will define "working operating system" differently. As a novice I might have a fairly simplistic notion of "working" that is along the lines of "it allows me to use Word, access the internet, and play music." An expert might have a much more sophisticated definition of "working operating system," and be concerned with a whole host of issues a novice isn't or needn't even be aware of. It is in this respect that the expert instruction set should not be a scaled down version of the novice set, but rather a set of instructions that deals with an entirely (or mostly) different set of procedures.
This better be good
I'm not an idiot when it comes to computers, but unfortunately my mind is in Windows jail. I'm basically really proficient... with Windows. I've used other operating systems plenty of times, but I stumble around a lot when I do and I definitely wouldn't know how to keep my computer healthy with stuff like system restore and defragging. It's a sad existence, I know. That's why I'm pulling for you to put together a good project!
As someone who hasn't switched my OS on my computer, I'd be looking for general info on how switching your OS changes your computer and its use, in addition to the basic uses of your new OS - nothing too detailed, but enough that I'd be able to keep my computer healthy. Also, I think your novice users will be fairly advanced, since you can't really make that kind of change without at least having some framework for how the stuff works. As for your advanced users, I would think about the types of things you would want to know about a brand new operating system you weren't familiar with, as someone who is experienced with OS. Those are probably the types of things you'll want to include. Maybe what you'll end up with is a set of instructions with troubleshooting for a novice who is first making a switch and more of a user guide outlining advanced structures and processes for more advanced users.