Checklist for Designing User Manuals

DEVELOPING CONSUMER PRODUCT – Instructions, Manuals, and General Product

Considerations –  Check List

Checklist

This checklist is meant to help you identify some of the key requirements and considerations throughout the process of instruction development, including preparation and planning, document design, and evaluation and testing. References to sections of this guide that provide further guidance and background information appear below each question heading.

**Planning the Instructions

**

What Tasks Should Be Included in the Instructions?
See Section 2: Planning the Instructions – What Are the Goals of the Instructions?

• Do you understand the product and its functions?
• Have you defined the scope of the instructions?
• Have you identified the key tasks users must perform and the desired outcome for each?
• Have you identified the steps involved in each task?
• Have you defined the sequence of the tasks and their steps?
• Have you determined the knowledge, skills, and resources (e.g., time, tools) required to perform each task and its steps?
• Have you identified potential errors associated with these tasks and the consequences of those errors?
• Have you defined specific, measurable criteria for success (e.g., time to complete, accuracy) for each task?

Who Are the Users of the Instructions?
See Section 2: Planning the Instructions – Who Is the Audience?

• Have you identified the foreseeable users of the product and instructions, including users other than the purchaser?
• Have you identified the potentially relevant characteristics of these users, including, but not limited to, age, sex, and literacy?
• Have you determined how familiar these users are likely to be with the product and with similar products or features?
• Do you understand the abilities, limitations, and preferences of these users?
• Have you determined the environments in which users are likely to use the instructions, and what tools and other resources they are likely to have available?

What Are the Foreseeable Uses of the Product?
See Section 2: Planning the Instructions

• Have you conducted focus groups, observations, and other qualitative analyses to identify how consumers understand the product and are likely to use it under real-world conditions?
• Have you searched for consumer feedback and marketing research on the product or on similar products?
• Have you performed systematic analyses, such as fault-tree analyses and failure modes and effects analyses, to identify reasonably foreseeable hazards?
• Have you reviewed comparable products or products with similar features to understand their hazards?
• Have you reviewed existing incident data associated with the product or with similar products and product features?

What Constraints Are Imposed Upon the Instructions?
See Section 2: Planning the Instructions – What Are the Constraints?

• Have you examined potentially relevant government regulations, guidance, and recommendations?
• Have you considered potentially relevant legal requirements, including the duty to warn?
• Have you examined potentially relevant voluntary standards and industry-recommended practices?
• Have you identified company requirements or practices that will be imposed upon the instructions?

Designing the Instructions

Are the Instructions Attention-Getting?
See Section 3: Capturing and Maintaining Attention – What Gets the Instructions Noticed?

• Are the instructions placed where consumers must encounter them to use the product?
• Are the physical features of the document (e.g., contrast with background, name and model of the product, presence of bold graphic elements) attention getting?
• Have you considered including supplemental materials, such as hang tags or product labels, that point to the full instructions?
• Have you considered delivery of the instructions prior to the product, if the product is not immediately available?

Are the Instructions Inviting and User-Friendly?
See Section 3: Capturing and Maintaining Attention

• Is the layout appealing?
• Are text and graphics legible?
• Are the document’s size, page stock, and colors appropriate?
• Did you consider creating multiple documents?

Are the Instructions Organized From the Users’ Perspective?
See Section 3: Capturing and Maintaining Attention and Section 4: Securing Comprehension

• Are actions stated in terms of users’ goals?
• Are tasks presented in a logical sequence?
• Is the document structure logical and evident?

Did You Include Appropriate Structural Elements?
See Section 4: Securing Comprehension – What Structure Is Helpful?

• Should you include a table of contents?
• Should you include an index?
• Should you include a glossary?
• Should you include cross-references?
• Should you include a checklist?

Is the Text Appropriate for Your Application and Your Audience?
See Section 4: Securing Comprehension

• Are words simple and understandable?
• Are sentences simple and understandable?
• Did you give names to components and procedures that will be meaningful to consumers?
• Did you name components and procedures consistently throughout the instructions?
• Did you consider providing instructions in multiple languages?

Are the Graphics Appropriate for Your Application and Your Audience?
See Section 4: Securing Comprehension – When Are Graphics Effective?

• Do the graphics express and support the message?
• Are the graphics easy to understand?

Do the Instructions Appear Credible and Encourage Compliance?
See Section 5: Motivating Compliance

• Are the instructions personally relevant to users?
• Will users see you as credible and as motivated by their needs?
• Do you emphasize benefits of following the instructions and minimize barriers to compliance?
• Are the instructions designed to help users remember important information?

Are Safety Messages Presented Properly?
See Section 6: Presenting Safety Information

• Do you include an up-front message telling users to read the instructions?
• Do you provide safety messages immediately before they are needed?
• Are the messages immediately recognizable as important for personal safety?
• Have you distinctly and consistently formatted the messages throughout the instructions?
• Have you considered the use of formal labeling elements, such as safety alert symbols, borders, or graphics?
• Do the messages include a signal word (CAUTION, WARNING, or DANGER) to indicate hazard severity?
• Will users clearly understand the hazard, the consequences of exposure to the hazard, and how to avoid the hazard?
• Will users see the message as personally relevant?

Evaluating the Instructions

What Should Be Considered Prior to Testing?
See Section 7: Evaluating the Instructions – What Should Be Considered?

• Have you verified the accuracy of the instructions?
• Do you understand the criteria for success—that is, the goals— you set for the instructions during planning of the instructions?
• Have you found experts to perform all formal tests on the instructions?

What Should Be Considered During Testing?
See Section 7: Evaluating the Instructions – What Should Be Considered?

• Do the participants represent the target audience?
• Do the participants include critical subgroups of foreseeable users (e.g., the elderly, non-English-literate users)?
• Do participants have access to the product during testing?
• Is testing taking place in a real-life setting?
• Are the instructions being evaluated and tested for all key performance criteria, such as conspicuity, understandability, errors, and compliance?
• Are the instructions revised and retested until they meet the goals defined during planning?

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