Benefits

• Users feel more competent and confident
• Software sales increase when buyers know the documentation is good
• Training is now organized, streamlined, and repeatable

Challenge

A developer of classroom software for teachers was migrating its product from MS-DOS to the Windows environment. The new product would have a lot of features and customization options, but that flexibility made the system hard to use without some guidance.

Previously, the company’s product documentation consisted of screen- and report-reference information. This kind of documentation is easy for developers to create because it consists of little more than screen shots. But it doesn’t offer much value to users. Reference documents don’t tell busy professionals how to do things with the system or how to recover when something goes wrong. Teachers need instructions and training that is geared to the way they work, and that prioritizes productivity.

Stratagem's Solution

Stratagem worked with the developers to catalog all the package’s features and options. The writers then spent time with teachers who would be using the system to learn how they really worked and what concepts were familiar with them.

These two worlds came together in the Teacher’s Guide that Stratagem produced, translating the system’s complexities for day-to-day use in the school environment. This task-based documentation got users up to speed quickly. It gave them step-by-step instructions for working with the system in the real world, not abstract knowledge for its own sake.

Result

By bridging the gap between developer and end user, the Teacher’s Guide made it possible for new users to become productive quickly and solve many of their own problems. Experienced users also found what they needed faster and felt more confident using the system. This helped reduce user frustration and eliminated many calls to the software company’s help line.

The company also found that potential buyers of the software were reassured to learn that effective documentation was available, and that helped them sell additional copies.