Help instructions for software and IT systems
When you need to provide help instructions to your staff or customers, where do you start? This microsite gives you guidance.
Definition of help instructions
The term 'help instructions' means different things to different people:
- In a software development context, the term usually refers to online help (also known as on-screen help, or Help)
- In a general context, the term usually refers to instructions that a company provides with its products, or for its staff.
Necessity for help instructions
Help instructions are needed for many reasons: regulatory, safety, staff efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
Clear help instructions can significantly reduce the support burden on an IT Helpdesk.
Producing help instructions
Producing clear instructions that really help people is difficult. (Think about the low-quality instructions that you have seen. If designing help instructions were easy, there would not be so many bad instructions.)
In many organisations, technical people produce the help instructions. Sometimes, that works well, but often, it does not.
Ideally, use a professional help writer. Typical job titles are 'technical writer', 'technical communicator', or 'technical author'. For a discussion of the issues that you need to consider, see the buyers' guide to technical writing services, which was written by a group of freelance instructional writers.
Freelance instruction writers
For software-related help instructions, use TechScribe. We have been designing help instructions for UK-based software companies since 1999:
To find a writer of help instructions in domains unrelated to software:
- Use a specialist recruitment agency
- Search the Quality Independent Authors group.