Users Manual
- Users Manual
- a work product that documents how to use an
system or
application
The typical objectives of a users manual are to document
the:
- Tasks to be performed by different kinds of users.
- Workflows that are performed by multiple collaborating
roles using the application.
The typical benefits of a users manual include:
- It increases user productivity by enabling them to
effectively use the application.
The typical contents of a users manual include:
-
- User Role:
- Workflows
- Appendices:
- Major Issues
- TBDs
- Assumptions
The typical stakeholders of a users manual include:
- Producers:
- Evaluators:
- Approvers:
- Maintainers:
- Users:
- The
user follows the procedures in the users manual to use
the application.
- The
user support agent reads the users manual to
understand how the user uses the application.
A users manual can typically be started if the following
preconditions hold:
A users manual typically has the following inputs:
- Work Products:
- Stakeholders:
- Increasing the usability requirements and amount of
online help functions decreases the need for a separate users
manaual.
- Users manuals often are restricted to customer
organization employees who may be expected to use
capabilities of the application that are less user friendly
than those capabilities used by the customers of the customer
organization.
User manuals are typically constrained by the following
conventions:
-
Content and Format Standard
-
MS Word Template
-
XML DTD Template
-
Inspection Checklist
Examples