> TEST YOUR DOCS Yes. > But this works better if you have someone else try it out instead 1000x yes. Yoz, you are wise and while what you say may seem like

> TEST YOUR DOCS Yes. > But this works better if you have someone else try it out instead 1000x yes. Yoz, you are wise and while what you say may seem like an obvious thing, it isn't. I was once in the unfortunate position of having to write manuals for software I did not design, so I went through it thinking I was the "average user." As it turns out, I was under the false impression that my documentation was perfectly understandable to anyone, to the point where they could sit down, rtfm and go. Boy was I wrong. I later got into an area of work where I had to help individuals with cognitive disabilities adapt to new workflows in factory settings. One of the exercises I had to do to earn my certification in this field was to imagine an individual that had never seen a broom or dustpan before, then use only photos to explain how to sweep a floor. It's far more challenging than you think. I realized that not only was I making the mistake of explaining things to myself, but I was also assuming that I could put myself in someone else's shoes and interpret my own instructions with fresh eyes. This, as it turns it, was folly. That experience propelled my documentation forward by leaps and bounds, though. In my current position, I came up with over a dozen single-page instructions to resolve issues customers were having with our products that, previous to my working here, generally took an hour-long phone call, eating up time and resources on both ends. Each page was tested with a coworker or willing customer that had never worked with the product before with welcomed feedback. The result was a significant drop in time wasted on these otherwise simple fixes, allowing us to redirect our big guns at the more complex issues that arise. For anyone interested in the kinds of pitfalls we fall into when we think we can bridge the gap between two minds with our "exact" instructions, check out this video. I think it does a wonderful job of conveying these problems in communication in a really fun way. Exact Instructions Challenge - PB&J: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN2RM-CHkuI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN2RM-CHkuI