User Manual Reviews

Situation

Intermec printer manuals needed to be reviewed by an application programmer. These manuals were often unclear, inaccurate, or contained gaps. The Technical Publication department and engineering needed a pair of “fresh eyes” to spot problems with the manuals. The Technical Publications group did a beautiful job creating the manuals but they did not have the expertise to create demo code and test the interface details described in the manuals.

Company

Intermec Corporation (Everett, WA)
Products: Model 3000, 4000, 4100, 4400.

Action(s)

Performed detailed reviews of several manuals and provided an abundance of constructive criticism. Suggestions included section ordering, eliminating redundant information, structuring manual in a more logical progression, and correcting example code that did not work as stated. Initial reviews were very in-depth and took several days for each manual.

Outcome

Suggestions were incorporated and made the final manual more accurate. Faulty example code was updated so that it worked properly.

Benefits

  • Manuals were more accurate
  • Examples worked properly
  • Redundant information was removed
  • Accurate manuals make the printer interface easier for end users