In my last documentation post, I talked about the 4 Key Pillars of writing user documentation.  This post is about how to apply those Four Pillars.

1. FIND the information they want, easily.
   • Create Indexes, Table of Contents & Cross-References to further information.
2. UNDERSTAND the information when they do find it.
   • Understand your audience.  Research them.  Understand how they work.
   • Create a Glossary of terms used in the document.
   • If the audience you are writing for, uses jargon, use that jargon in your documentation.
   • Writing style
     KISS – Keep It Short and Simple.
     Make it easy to read.
     Make it easy to understand
3. Rely on the information being ACCURATE
   • Inaccurate information is worse than no information!
     Why?  Because it erodes confidence in your documentation.
   • Don’t waffle.  Give the user the exact information they need.
   • Ensure spelling, grammar, punctuation errors are fixed as much as possible before printing.
4. Rely on the information being COMPLETE
   • Table of Content should contain all the information your audience expects, which allows them to find the information easily (point 1).
   • Your documentation is complete when your audience is happy.