OVERVIEW
For small companies, creating their product’s User Documentation in-house, provides benefits to the company, to (idle) staff, and to the product. This article describes the benefits and some downsides of producing User Documents in-house.
THREE OPTIONS
If you have no in-house writing staff you have three options:
1. No User Document for the product. This is NOT a valid option. Every product needs User Documentation. It completes your product package, and enhances the User’s experience with your product. Here are two examples of non-existent User Documentation:
* Tomatoes. Most people don’t know that before use, tomatoes should not be refrigerated. Refrigerating tomatoes before use will reduce their flavor and nutrition value.
* A Manual Can Opener. This can opener clamps on the can, thus the user does not have to squeeze the handles while operating the can opener. It came with no User Documentation, as “everyone could probably figure out how to use it.” This is wrong. After a few uses, the blades become slightly dulled, and the handles are very difficult to clamp and lock.
The simple tip of...