Technical Copywriter - Turn technical help materials into user-friendly documents

We are implementing an internal helpdesk portal. As part of this delivery, it has been identified that the knowledge materials (articles, FAQs, Quick Reference guides, help pages etc) designed to help end-users with internal systems are too technical in nature and do not meet their objective to allow users to quickly and easily find answers to the problems they are looking for. This project is to review and rewrite the knowledge materials, by putting the end-user at the core of the requirement, to deliver user-centric self-help documentation. Content Creation Principles 1. Reduce freeze-flight-fight-forfeit Users under stress go through an emotional state where they first freeze, then potentially flee, or fight, and finally forfeit. Documentation will be produced with the assumption that users will read it in a state of annoyance, anger, and tension. This means readers will scan, jump around, and read quickly. The documentation will be structured with clear headings, sub-headings and paragraph structures that will allow the user to consume content more easily. 2. Maximise readability Sentences will be simple, clear, and easy-to-understand, especially as the concepts get more complex. In fact, the more complex the material, the simpler the sentences need to be. Beautifully designed Aesthetic style is important to users when consuming content. Documentation produced will be  9-12pt font, in an easily read font such as Arial or Calibri  10-12 words (55 characters) per line  Dark text on light background (black on white)  Have consistent heading and sub-heading styles, call-out boxes, references and links across all documentation. 3. Goldilocks length The larger and more complex the system, the greater the strain on the user. The greater the strain, the lower the user's success. In many cases, documentation that is too massive deflates the user from even trying at all. Users' attention will be focussed on what matters by reducing extraneous information. We are looking to produce goldilocks documentation (“just right!”) We will eliminate content that is merely "noise" as opposed to meaningful information. We will document the information that most users need to know, and omit info that applies to a tiny subset of users (edge cases or obvious information). Adding it into the main documentation dilutes the information for the majority. Documentation produced will correctly sized with this principal in mind. 4. A picture paints 1000 words Pictures combined with text provide users with better comprehension and recall. Especially as users quickly scan a page, pictures (simple, concrete, and reinforcing a clear message) will help users to understand the material better. 5. Use personas We will create composite descriptions of users based on real research to guide decision-making about design. Documentation will be created with these personas in mind. 6. Use business champions We will reduce the number of errors, gaps, and mistakes by involving a number of unbiased experts to influence the content. Even when using our industry leading business and technical copywriters, we are outsiders to your business environment, and not as familiar with the industry context of the product nor as versed in the technology as engineers and QA. As such, we will involve the input of Business Champions as much as possible to increase the quality and comprehensiveness of the documentation. 7. Develop iteratively Developed documents will usually start out simple and get increasingly more detailed and refined with each additional iteration. It often takes multiple iterations — through reviews, user feedback, testing, etc. — to achieve a high level of quality. We will employ an iterative approach to ensure these standards are met. 8. Use rich and interactive media