It is very advantageous for the company to always come up with clear, concise, and complete product documentation as it help create positive consumer perception on the product particularly among the manufacturer’s customers. A well-prepared and written product documentation can highlight the superb features of the products and can reduce, if not eliminate, customers’ request for assistance, hence, contributes in efficient operation.
Ivaylo Gerchev (2014) stated that good product documentation provides information about the product and how it can be useful, informs the product’s unique difference among the other similar products, and tells how one can get started with it. Good product documentation also informs the users how the product can be used from simple to complex scenarios, discusses how the product can be used in the best possible way, and provides demos for the product’s uses (Gerchev, 2014). This paper will provide an analysis and evaluation of the product documentation of BOLDFlash Flash Drive Product #A23-B.
The scenario of the case to be evaluated is that the Boldflash Corporation recently released a new flash drive product named BOLDFlash Flash Drive Product #A23-B. Along with the flash drive is a product documentation that states only the installation instructions. The installation instructions started with pre-requisites of installation informing the customer to download some files in an ambiguous way as it instructs downloading files from unknown repository after creating directory. The writer probably meant folder instead of directory.
The second section of the instructions informed the reader what he should be seeing after downloading the files, and the third section of the instructions informed the simpler way of installing the flash drive. It then ended the statement with If you have problems, contact the technical support.
The ambiguity and redundancy of the instructions confused the several customers that it made them call the technical support. The problem is, even the technical support staffs had difficulty understanding the instructions. Such situation made the Technical Support Manager, Jack Thompson, raise the quality issues of the product documentation to the Sales Director to communicate to the research and development about the need to improve it.
In the customers’ point-of-view, the product documentation of BOLDFlash Flash Drive Product #A23-B appears to be short and rushed as it only provides installation instructions with ambiguous terms and directions stated in the prerequisites section. The product documentation does not have information about the product specifications and its uses, its unique feature against similar products, and illustration of its parts and how it is used.
The pre-requisite part was also incorrectly written in a way that it anticipated that all customers know how to create directory. The writer might also have meant folder rather than directory, or the customer may confuse directory to folder. The document also instructed to download files from repository when the location of repository, itself, is unclear. The said procedure was stated as prerequisite when it is possibly the complex way of installing the flash drive. The simpler way of installation was in the third section of the product documentation as the flash drives are usually installed even without the listed prerequisites. The writer could have written that there are two ways of installing the product; one is the steps listed in the prerequisites section, while the second one is the steps listed in the third section.
Having the said issues, the customer might have failed installing the flash drive as he follows the instructions in the prerequisite section. As a result, he would respond by calling the technical support, and if the technical support staff was unable to resolve the issues for the same reasons, the customer may just decide to return the product.
On the side of the technical support team, the product documentation of the flash drive could have been reviewed prior attending to the call, and if there are several ambiguities, the Technical Support Manager could have requested for the revision of the document used by them and those attached to the products. T
The research and development department must have also conducted actual demonstration of installation prior assigning them to attend to customers. An actual demonstration of the instructions in addition to the revised product documentation will help the technical support team perform their tasks effectively.
The revision shall include the essential contents of product documentation aside from the installation instructions, such as product description, uses, unique features, product usage in simple to complex scenarios such as virus incidents, and product demonstration/illustration of usage.
Doctor Philip Hodgson (2015) stated in his article in User Focus considerations in providing instructions. He noted that the steps should be in correct order/sequence, provide visual presentation of the steps, and provide familiar and simple words and paragraphs (Hodgson, 2015). The instruction need to be unassuming the users have former experience with similar products and must be tested with non-familiar users before the instructions are finalized in the product documentation (Hodgson, 2015). Hodgson (2015) also added that the printing and paper quality should match reflect the product’s/ flash drive’s quality
In the case of the BOLDFlash Flash Drive Product #A23-B instructions, it could have been more helpful if the instructions were written using simpler words rather than the jargons which often confused the users that are not too savvy or familiar in technical terms. The research and development department should have also tested the instructions to new users of such products before incorporating it to the packaging to test the effectiveness of the instructions. They must also be cautious in presenting the document. To communicate that the flash drive product is superior in quality, it will be advisable to use dark inks for printing and glossy papers.
The case of the BOLDFlash Flash Drive Product #A23-B product documentation teaches us the value of communicating well to the customers and other users through complete, concise, and informative documentation as a way to further increase customer appreciation of the product and operational efficiency. Therefore, product documentation is one aspect of product packaging that should be given proper attention and importance as negligence of such aspect can incur huge cost and loss for the manufacturers.
The Technical Support Manager was correct when he said that the high bulk of work in the research and development department should not be a deterrent in the production of good product documentation. The department responsible for the creation of the product documentation should apply proper work delegation, ample time, and reliable procedures.
Careful and correct ways of methodologies are better than haphazard work or output as it places the company in the risks of losing customers and higher operational spending. On the contrary, good and well understood product documentation provides good impression to the product and the company and reduces unnecessary tasks on the part of the technical support team. Consequently, good product documentation indirectly contributes to higher corporate productivity and savings.
References
Hodgson, Philip. 2015. Tips for writing user manuals. User Focus. Retrieved from http://www.userfocus.co.uk/articles/usermanuals.html
Gerchev, Ivaylo. 2014. Is Your Product’s Documentation Good Enough? Sitepoint. Retrieved from http://www.sitepoint.com/products-documentation-good-enough/
