Chapter 18 Manuals Dobrin Keller Weisser Technical Communication

Chapter 18 Manuals Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

freeimages. co. uk Manual: a document that provides information that a reader can reference to solve a specific external problem Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Policy Manuals ‣ Inform employees about information crucial to their employment ‣ Describe company policies and explain the approaches and goals of an organization ‣ Provide a starting point for understanding how a company makes decisions Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Procedures Manuals ‣ Tell readers how to perform a task, or, in some cases, how policies are enacted and enforced ‣ Tell readers how to solve problems ‣ Might direct readers through a bureaucratic problem such as the process for filing for worker’s compensation Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Operations Manuals ‣ Describe the operations of a particular process ‣ Explain procedures for day-to-day operations within an organization or company ‣ Are prescriptive, clearly detailing the steps required to complete given processes so that users/readers can easily solve problems Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Operator’s Manuals ‣ Are designed to solve any problems encountered while operating equipment ‣ Are detailed “how-to” guides that assist readers in successfully operating equipment ‣ Are generally written for operators already familiar with the equipment Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Owner’s or User’s Manuals ‣ Are reference documents designed for use with individual pieces of equipment ‣ Often contain elements of several manuals, including instructions, maintenance, and operations ‣ Are usually designed for both expert and lay audiences Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Service and Maintenance Manuals ‣ Often relate directly to operator’s manuals ‣ Provides information about the care and repair of equipment ‣ Are frequently designed with operators in mind as the audience Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Training Manuals ‣ Prepare readers to perform some kind of task, follow some kind of procedure, or operate some kind of equipment ‣ Teach new employees how to successfully complete the tasks associated with their positions ‣ Prepare someone to perform a task or use a piece of equipment ‣ Prepare people to solve problems themselves Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Field Manuals ‣ Are generally used when someone is away from the office or base of operations ‣ Assist readers with problems that arise while away from many workplace resources ‣ Must include all information a reader needs to solve problems ‣ Also come in an electronic format that can be downloaded in the field Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Lab Manuals ‣ Instruct laboratory users how to operate specific lab equipment and provide protocols for working in the laboratory ‣ May cover single or multiple pieces of equipment ‣ Offer specific guidelines for both operations and safety ‣ Tell users how to follow lab protocols and procedures Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Manual Standards ‣ Depend on the purpose of and the audience for the manual ‣ Depend on standards for producing manuals that are imposed both by disciplines and by individual companies and organizations ‣ Allow more efficient access and production of manuals ‣ Prevent problems of inconsistency between manuals Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

General Guidelines for Manuals ‣ Consider readers first when writing manuals ‣ Recognize the function and purpose of the manual ‣ Develop detailed outlines and overviews before writing ‣ Understand information sources Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

General Guidelines for Manuals ‣ Agree on divisions of labor in writing manuals ‣ Consider the format in which the manual will be produced ‣ Test manual usability ‣ Plan for revision Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Manual Organization ‣ Share organizational patterns similar to those of instruction manuals ‣ Contain various sections, but few manuals include them all Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Front Matter ‣ Cover: title and visual (including date and byline) ‣ Scope: states what is covered in the manual ‣ Introduction: develops thesis ‣ Definitions ‣ Alerts and special considerations ‣ Equipment and tools list ‣ Parts list Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Body ‣ Includes the steps that guide readers through the problem, product, process, procedure, or policy ‣ Might simply be a list of policies that the manual conveys to readers Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Conclusion & End Matter ‣ Troubleshooting ‣ Maintenance information (unless the entire manual is a maintenance manual) ‣ Additional alerts Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Index ‣ Might be in addition to the general end matter ‣ Helps readers locate specific information within a manual ‣ Generally lists words and concepts alphabetically ‣ Identifies where readers can reference information in the manual Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Index Parts ‣ Headings include recognizable keywords ‣ Subheadings are used if there are multiple page references to a single heading ‣ Cross-references refer to words in the index that might be used synonymously with other words Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Single Sourcing ‣ Allows writers to produce many different documents from a single source of information ‣ Is useful for companies that produce a variety of documents ‣ Considers the needs of all who will use the single source documents ‣ Solves economic problems, saving time and money ‣ Solves rhetorical problems, finding more efficient ways to disseminate information Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Manuals as Marketing and Public Relations ‣ Reflect the quality of work the company does ‣ Evoke confidence from readers ‣ In completing the task outlined ‣ In the company that produced the manual ‣ In the product to which it is linked ‣ Are often the only contact a reader has with the company that produced it Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Ethical Manuals ‣ Consider safety ‣ Consider functionability ‣ Consider accurate information ‣ Consider tested processes ‣ Consider up-to-date policies ‣ Consider hazards even with proper use ‣ Consider troubleshooting ‣ Consider liability Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.