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How to Write the Wordless Manual

• STC-Israel Technical Communications,National
  Conference 2004
• Kibbutz Maaleh HaHamisha, Israel
• February 2004
• Presented by Yehuda Zelenko

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Assumption

• We assume that graphics is sort of a universal
  language -- that different cultures interpret
  graphics in the same way.
• WRONG!!!!

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Non-Verbal Learning

• Act of gaining knowledge, apart from language,
  speech or words.
• Knowledge gained by watching, imitating body
  movements
• WATCH ME!
• Isotype set of pictographic characters, to
  communicate directions, events, objects

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Non-Verbal Communications

• The process of sending and receiving word-less
  messages

• Facial expressions
• Gestures
• Postures
• Tones of voice

• Grooming habits
• Body positioning
• Consumer product design

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Facial Expressions

• Lips
• Eyebrows
• Tongue
• Eyelids
• Eyes
• Eye contact

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GesturesWhat does this mean in Japan?
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Gestures What does this mean in France?
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Gestures What does this mean in Iran?
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Body Gestures

• Clenched fist
• Wave of hand
• Pointed finger
• Shrug of shoulders
• Palms Up
• Palms Out

• Crossing your arms
• Making facial expressions
• Nodding persistently
• Overusing hand motions
• Tapping your fingers or feet.

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Successful Verbal Communication

• Should end with
• I SEE!

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Tactile Symbols for Blind
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Tactile Symbols for Blind
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Language for the Deaf

• Signing

• Finger- Spelling

• Numbers

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Examples of visual manuals

• Seat cards in airplanes
• Origami books
• Lego building block instructions
• IKEA furniture assembly instructions
• Books for Children
• How-to-Do repair manuals
• Various labels and tags

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IKEA Manuals

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From DVD Manual

• Dont pull refrigerator over bump!

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Table Lamp SAFETY!!
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Product Wrappings

• On a plastic packaging bag

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Shoe Tag

• Shoe Upper from leather
• Shoe Insides woven cloth
• Shoe Soles Diamonds?

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Packing Instructions

• If you drop box on a dog, dont trip on its
  tail

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IEC-ISO Safety Symbols
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ISO 3864 Safety Signs
rotating gear wear safety do not
touch hazard gloves
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Homeowner Wordless Fix-It Manual

• The problem (presented in a cartoon) A person
  sorting through laundry to wash, trying to
  separate the colors. Laundry is all over the
  floor in front of the machine.
• The solution A frame is built which holds six
  little trash bins, stacked up one on top of the
  other, so clothes can be sorted into them by
  color.

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Dont use ambiguous illustrations !
Honda Motorcycle Manual
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The Wordless ManualWhats it good for?

• For step-by-step procedures
• For physical activities

• Cannot teach programming
• Not for conceptual tasks that need branching or
  looping.

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• So why did HP want visual (wordless) manuals?

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Main Criteria for the HP Visual Manual

• Main motivation Company wanted to save money,
  but not necessarily promise better usability to
  their customers!
• Wanted to enjoy a global market
• Both parties won!
• Designed for a HP Network Computer
• Audience Network Administrator / Tech Support
  Persons

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Main Logistic Benefits

• Product Engineering collaborated with
  Documentation team
• Localization costs were virtually eliminated (for
  up to 22 languages)
• Printing Production costs per revision were
  substantially reduced
• HP internal documentation management was
  simplified

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Collaboration -- Engineering Documentation Teams

• Improved the product
• By adding instructional cues, such as decals,
  warnings, engraved labels, arrows
• By proposing alternative placement for card
  assemblies and cables making assembly easier

• By unifying components onto same assembly
• By moving components to other locations
• By doing usability testing repeatedly to create
  ideal user experience.

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LOCALIZATION Definition

• Process of creating or adapting a product to a
  specific locale -- language, cultural context,
  conventions, and market requirement of a specific
  target market,
• So that User can interact in his/her own language
  and cultural conventions, and
• Product meets all regulatory standards.

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Virtually Eliminated Localization Cost

• Localization -- used to cost up to 80 cents per
  word before Wordless Manual was published (year
  2000)
• For 5 languages _at_ 25-page book not localized
  saved 15,000!
• Savings did not include salaries of internal
  staffing or consultants to manage multiple
  localization vendors.

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Reduced Printing Production Cost

• Single Wordless Manual saved lots of money!
• Non-Recoverable Expenses (initial print setup of
  manual) - small manual in color costs US 5,000.
• Printing production costs for each manual -
  reduced by combining volumes. As much as half
  saved per copy with large print runs.

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Simplified HP Document Management

• Reduced the costs of handling multiple parts
  (e.g., manuals), multiple inventories, and
  different bills of material.

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HP Marketing Gains

• Flexibility able to enter new language markets
• Improved Time-to-market - no delays for
  translation localization
• Improved Usability -- for users who had
  difficulty with textual instructions
• Manual portability (fewer pages)

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Marketing Power

• For countries who demanded instructions in their
  native language
• For limited markets, localization and re-printing
  costs were prohibitive
• Easy to enter very small markets ---no additional
  costs or waiting time

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How to Increase Usability using Pictures

• Reduce visual traffic by taking out extraneous
  details
• Use only simple illustrations
• Help reader to focus only on relevant details

• In US, preferred words with pictures
• In Japan, preferred Wordless manual
• TipIllustrate only the instruction, not the
  object in its perfect form!
• Dont scrimp, be repetitive.

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Developing Non-Verbal Instructions

• Set size of manual, orientation, binding
• Sketch out simple frames
• Storyboard with text information and simple
  photos or videotape

• Chunk text in frames to create more succint
  instructions
• Group into logical modules of related steps
• Make reading sequence obvious
• Test and revise!

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Manual Product --Usability Testing

• 6- to 8-month development period
• Six product prototypes were built
• 1st product prototype tested with worded manual
  problem could not assemble the product with
  text.
• 3rd product prototype tested with first draft of
  Wordless manual
• 5th product prototype tested with final version
  of Wordless manual

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Off-Line Testing

• EQUIPMENT
• Had to pass all performance, electrical, safety
  tests
• No sacrifice in performance and operation

• MANUAL
• First tested the text manual
• Next tested the visual manuals - twice
• Any revisions mainly on icons, not the
  instructions.

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Any Questions?

• Now lets see what an HP visual manual is all
  about.