I recently created a simplified SharePoint User Guide for a company. The reason is because the employees would be working with only one part of SharePoint. They didn’t need more information to complicate the new documentation management system they had to learn to use.
The guide consisted of basic instructions and screenshots to give them a visual idea of what to do. Keeping it simple was the goal. The people who would use the system already had a mental barrier so to make the guide wordy and overly complex would have turned them off completely.
I used a lot of bullet lists, arrows, and circled words to point out the information they should focus on. The screen shots were simple and often zoomed in to the section that was the focal point.
Overall this SharePoint User Guide served the purpose intended. It became a quick reference guide for the users on the new system. From the user guide I created a SharePoint training manual and short video using Camtasia.
As a freelance technical writer it is part of my job to make software applications and systems clear to the end user. They are busy enough without me coming in and complicating their work day with a bulky user guide. Larger guides have their place but, for the most part, shorter and simpler is best.
