Technical Instructions

Technical Instructions

What are technical instructions you say, well think of instructions. We all know what those are. You don't know you say, then you must be the guy who says that you don't need instructions only to find out that you forget that one step that causes the whole process to go off the rails. If you are "that guy" then join the crowd. I too have been accused of being that guy. Below I will deatil some of the specifics that make a set of instructions, good instructions.

What readers Need?

Too often, readers will skip instructions entirely, but when they really need them, they want them to be organized carefully, easy to understand, and only have the information they really, really need.
Here are some questions readers might ask:

• What will these instructions help me do?
• What materials do I need and where will I find them?
• What exactly do I need to do?
• What if something goes wrong? Where will I find the solution?

One thing to keep in mind is there are basically four parts to writing instructions. 

• Introduction
• Materials Needed
• Directions
• Troubleshooting

The introduction should be brief but informative. Think of it this way. You will need to identify the task to perform, the intended readers, and any safety information. Warnings should stand out, never dull them down, make the pop out to the reader. Give the reader a complete list of materials, if you can show images or give descriptions of each part required as well as specific tools necessary to complete the task. Directions need to be complete. You will want to show each step. Also, make sure that no actions are left out. You can assume some level of required knowledge but don't leave steps out and try and use graphics when possible. Last but not least is troubleshooting, Give possible problems that a user might encounter, and provide a cause or causes and a remedy to that specific problem.