Instructions, procedures, and policies are some of the most difficult writing tasks. Writing them effectively requires that you:
- Understand the difference between instructions, policies, and procedures.
- Plan the project by determining your purpose, analyzing your audience, and preparing a document specification.
- Concentrate on writing that is task-oriented, clearly formatted, and transparent.
- Organize instructions and procedures sequentially, construct deductive frameworks, list any necessary tools or equipment, separate instructions from explanations, organize similar types of information similarly, and separate user actions from system responses.
- Design your instructions and procedures using clearly labeled figures, consistent formats, decision tables, modular designs, and information mapping techniques.
- Understand how to establish a collaborative developmental editing process that includes editing your instructions for readability and testing them for usability.
Since many instructions and procedures are translated for use in other cultures, be aware of localization issues and the preferred balance of theoretical and practical information in different cultures. Also, consider the cultural aspects that influence how graphics, icons, and colors are interpreted; how documents can be designed to reflect different reading patterns; and how numbers are represented.
