Comments on: Quick Reference Guides: Short and Sweet Documentation http://idratherbewriting.com/2009/04/10/quick-reference-guides-short-and-sweet-documentation/ The Latest Trends in Technical Communication Sat, 26 May 2012 12:14:26 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: My Experience with Quick Reference Guides « shwetahardikar http://idratherbewriting.com/2009/04/10/quick-reference-guides-short-and-sweet-documentation/comment-page-1/#comment-182900 My Experience with Quick Reference Guides « shwetahardikar Sun, 19 Dec 2010 15:42:41 +0000 http://www.idratherbewriting.com/?p=3331#comment-182900 [...] using the Help or user manual. Remember what Tom Johnson has said about Quick Reference Guide being Short and Sweet documentation! Well, I never thought so many efforts and smart thinking will go onto actually creating one small [...] [...] using the Help or user manual. Remember what Tom Johnson has said about Quick Reference Guide being Short and Sweet documentation! Well, I never thought so many efforts and smart thinking will go onto actually creating one small [...]

]]> By: Quick Reference Guides are more useful than a 150-page user doc « Your Writing Dept Blog http://idratherbewriting.com/2009/04/10/quick-reference-guides-short-and-sweet-documentation/comment-page-1/#comment-150159 Quick Reference Guides are more useful than a 150-page user doc « Your Writing Dept Blog Thu, 22 Apr 2010 20:17:39 +0000 http://www.idratherbewriting.com/?p=3331#comment-150159 [...] can give users a short quick reference guide (under five pages). This gets the user up and running with the system. Quick reference guides [...] [...] can give users a short quick reference guide (under five pages). This gets the user up and running with the system. Quick reference guides [...]

]]> By: The Proximity Effect | Simplifying Complexity http://idratherbewriting.com/2009/04/10/quick-reference-guides-short-and-sweet-documentation/comment-page-1/#comment-140129 The Proximity Effect | Simplifying Complexity Mon, 18 May 2009 22:06:55 +0000 http://www.idratherbewriting.com/?p=3331#comment-140129 [...] Fellow writer Tom Johnson has written several excellent posts on the value of quick reference guides as a concise job aid. He has also given great advice on best practices for developing them. If you need to create quick reference guides, I highly recommend Tom’s recent post, titled Quick Reference Guides: Short and Sweet Documentation. [...] [...] Fellow writer Tom Johnson has written several excellent posts on the value of quick reference guides as a concise job aid. He has also given great advice on best practices for developing them. If you need to create quick reference guides, I highly recommend Tom’s recent post, titled Quick Reference Guides: Short and Sweet Documentation. [...]

]]> By:   The Twitter Book and tech comm by Communications from DMN http://idratherbewriting.com/2009/04/10/quick-reference-guides-short-and-sweet-documentation/comment-page-1/#comment-140054   The Twitter Book and tech comm by Communications from DMN Thu, 14 May 2009 09:06:11 +0000 http://www.idratherbewriting.com/?p=3331#comment-140054 [...] not all documentation. This approach is great for quick reference guides or visual references for a set of features of an [...] [...] not all documentation. This approach is great for quick reference guides or visual references for a set of features of an [...]

]]> By: ownrisk's me2DAY http://idratherbewriting.com/2009/04/10/quick-reference-guides-short-and-sweet-documentation/comment-page-1/#comment-139830 ownrisk's me2DAY Wed, 29 Apr 2009 08:50:48 +0000 http://www.idratherbewriting.com/?p=3331#comment-139830 <strong>ownrisk의 생각...</strong> Quick Reference Guides: Short and Sweet Documentation - Tom Johnson... ownrisk의 생각…

Quick Reference Guides: Short and Sweet Documentation – Tom Johnson…

]]> By: Tom http://idratherbewriting.com/2009/04/10/quick-reference-guides-short-and-sweet-documentation/comment-page-1/#comment-139580 Tom Mon, 20 Apr 2009 02:47:10 +0000 http://www.idratherbewriting.com/?p=3331#comment-139580 Evod, thanks for the compliment on this post. I appreciate your feedback. Evod, thanks for the compliment on this post. I appreciate your feedback.

]]> By: Friday Links « Bridging the Gap http://idratherbewriting.com/2009/04/10/quick-reference-guides-short-and-sweet-documentation/comment-page-1/#comment-139519 Friday Links « Bridging the Gap Fri, 17 Apr 2009 06:33:37 +0000 http://www.idratherbewriting.com/?p=3331#comment-139519 [...] I’d Rather Be Writing has a fantastic write-up of their presentation on Quick Reference Guides. [...] [...] I’d Rather Be Writing has a fantastic write-up of their presentation on Quick Reference Guides. [...]

]]> By: Evod Prokov http://idratherbewriting.com/2009/04/10/quick-reference-guides-short-and-sweet-documentation/comment-page-1/#comment-139402 Evod Prokov Tue, 14 Apr 2009 23:04:22 +0000 http://www.idratherbewriting.com/?p=3331#comment-139402 I've been writing guides/tutorials for quite some time now, and I think this is the best "Guide to write Guides" I've seen. THANX!!! I’ve been writing guides/tutorials for quite some time now, and I think this is the best “Guide to write Guides” I’ve seen.

THANX!!!

]]> By: Paul Gallagher http://idratherbewriting.com/2009/04/10/quick-reference-guides-short-and-sweet-documentation/comment-page-1/#comment-139368 Paul Gallagher Tue, 14 Apr 2009 00:07:08 +0000 http://www.idratherbewriting.com/?p=3331#comment-139368 Great article Tom, Ben. A good reminder to always stop and think about packaging and delivery in the quest for getting your message across. Another use I have found for the "reference guide" format is in sales, specifically large "technical solution sales". Tender documents, proposals and associated clarifications can add up to a sizable stack of paper. A severe case of the "almighty thud" syndrome, worse still for the poor client faced with many vendors. I've used the reference guide technique a few times to try to cut through the noise, and each has been a phenomenal success. I've produced a laminated reference card to be distributed and used at the formal presentation stage. The best example was for a multi-million deal to build market monitoring systems for a regulator. Our reference card in that case was double-sided A4, and we devoted half the space to just describing the problem and the domain. After winning the deal, I heard informally that our graphical representation of the market model and all its complexities had totally won them over. The client had even been using the chart internally as a reference to guide their own discussions. I use the technique sparingly, since they can take a lot of work to produce and simply get your story down to that 1 or 2 pages in a way that is still meaningful and substantive. And not every situation is appropriate: I think best where the problem domain or the solutions are unavoidably complex, and you know the complexity is muddying the water for all involved. But when you do it right, it can be a very powerful tool. Great article Tom, Ben. A good reminder to always stop and think about packaging and delivery in the quest for getting your message across.

Another use I have found for the “reference guide” format is in sales, specifically large “technical solution sales”.

Tender documents, proposals and associated clarifications can add up to a sizable stack of paper. A severe case of the “almighty thud” syndrome, worse still for the poor client faced with many vendors.

I’ve used the reference guide technique a few times to try to cut through the noise, and each has been a phenomenal success. I’ve produced a laminated reference card to be distributed and used at the formal presentation stage.

The best example was for a multi-million deal to build market monitoring systems for a regulator. Our reference card in that case was double-sided A4, and we devoted half the space to just describing the problem and the domain. After winning the deal, I heard informally that our graphical representation of the market model and all its complexities had totally won them over. The client had even been using the chart internally as a reference to guide their own discussions.

I use the technique sparingly, since they can take a lot of work to produce and simply get your story down to that 1 or 2 pages in a way that is still meaningful and substantive. And not every situation is appropriate: I think best where the problem domain or the solutions are unavoidably complex, and you know the complexity is muddying the water for all involved.

But when you do it right, it can be a very powerful tool.

]]> By: Scott Skibell http://idratherbewriting.com/2009/04/10/quick-reference-guides-short-and-sweet-documentation/comment-page-1/#comment-139347 Scott Skibell Mon, 13 Apr 2009 10:26:46 +0000 http://www.idratherbewriting.com/?p=3331#comment-139347 Color is also an important consideration. For example, think of USA Today. We all know what the blue, green, purple, and red colors represent. This becomes important as you create a series of job aids for a particular project. Another great example is over at http://quamut.com/ They've got great layouts and use color to represent different categories. I encourage you to print out a couple of their free examples. Another great post, Tom. Thanks. Color is also an important consideration.

For example, think of USA Today. We all know what the blue, green, purple, and red colors represent. This becomes important as you create a series of job aids for a particular project.

Another great example is over at http://quamut.com/ They’ve got great layouts and use color to represent different categories. I encourage you to print out a couple of their free examples.

Another great post, Tom. Thanks.

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