How information is arranged.
WHY STRUCTURE MATTERS
Readers scan, and structure is what lets them find their place.
WHAT TO ORGANISE BY
Tasks the reader performs, in the order they perform them.
WHY NOT BY FEATURE
Readers know what they want to achieve, not which feature achieves it.
WHAT TO PUT FIRST
What the document covers, and who it is for.
WHY
Readers must establish quickly whether they are in the right place.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
Prerequisites, before the steps.
WHY BEFORE
Discovering a prerequisite halfway through means starting again.
WHAT A TASK SECTION SHOULD CONTAIN
What the task achieves When it applies What is needed first The steps, numbered What the result should be What to do if it fails
WHY THE EXPECTED RESULT
Readers cannot tell whether they succeeded without it.
WHAT HEADINGS SHOULD DO
Describe the content specifically enough to be found by scanning.
WHAT MAKES A GOOD HEADING
It states the task or the subject It uses words the reader would search for
WHAT MAKES A POOR ONE
Vague terms Clever phrasing Internal terminology
WHAT TO KEEP SHORT
Sections.
WHY
Long unbroken sections cannot be scanned and readers lose their place.
WHAT TO PROVIDE FOR LONGER DOCUMENTS
A contents list Consistent structure across sections
WHY CONSISTENCY
It lets readers predict where information will be.
WHAT TO AVOID
Burying important information in prose Requiring the whole document to be read Cross-references that send readers away and back
