What is a Technical Manual?

A technical manual can be thought of as a “how-to guide” aimed at helping users to

understand the technical aspects of a product. Depending on the product, the technical
manual usually contains instructions for the set-up, maintenance, and troubleshooting
required for users to be effective.
The technical manual not only helps users get started but also assists them with
ongoing problems they might face. It usually contains step-by-step instructions and
how-to articles that help users tackle any situation that might arise with the product.
A good technical manual should be simplified enough to make sense to the end users.
It’s clear and well-structured,
Types of Technical Manual
There are many different types of technical manuals that companies might produce to
help their users.
Product Manuals
Product manuals provide users with a basic overview of a product, without going into
too much depth. It tells users what the product is for, explains its features, and how to
set up, maintain and use the product.
Repair Manuals
Repair manuals are exactly what the name implies – detailed instructions for how to
troubleshoot the product in the event an issue arises. It helps users conduct routine
maintenance as well as perform major repairs.
Troubleshoot Guides
A troubleshooting guide is a structured document that lists common problems that
might arise with a system, alongside instructions for how to solve the problem. It
diagnoses symptoms, eliminates possible causes, and confirms to the user when the
system is operational again.
User Manuals
A user manual is an in-depth guide that helps customers get familiar with your
product or service and overcome basic issues with the setup and maintenance. The
user manual tells the user exactly how to use the product in its intended manner and
helps them get the most out of it.
Release Notes
Release notes are technical documentation that is provided alongside the release of a
new software product or update. It usually contains details on how the product has
changed, new or enhanced features, and bug fixes.
Why do Businesses Invest in Technical manuals?
There are many reasons why businesses choose to invest their resources into creating
technical manuals.
Quick and easy on-boarding of users
When you acquire a new user of your product, they are usually excited to get started.
The problem is, that most products require a little hand-holding to get set up and
guide your user toward success.
This is where technical manuals come in handy. New users can refer to your technical
manual to help them install and launch your product, decreasing the time it takes for
the user to become proficient with your product.
Guide users to operate in a safe environment
Some products can present a potential danger to users if operated incorrectly.
Technical manuals can provide the relevant warnings to make sure users interact with
the product safely, such as the correct temperature for storage or keeping it away from
liquids.
Improve customer experience with your product
When users understand how to use your product correctly, this enhances the customer
experience. They have access to helpful resources that can provide instant answers to
any questions they might have, without the necessity to contact customer support.
If customers can self-serve their own problems with your product, they feel less of a
sense that they have been inconvenienced. Your company has already anticipated
scenarios where users might need help, resulting in more successful and satisfied
customers.
Effective training materials for operators and new users
Many products require an explanation before they can be used effectively, or
instructions to help troubleshoot if the product doesn’t work as expected. Technical
manuals are therefore useful training materials for operators and new users of the
product, allowing them to get familiar with your product as they use it.
When customers are effectively trained with your product, they can become power
users without having to reach out to customer support. This reduces the chance that
they will churn.
Avoid liability due to product misuse
When you include correct usage instructions in your technical manual, you are
protecting your company against liabilities that might arise through the use of your
product. When you include the relevant warnings and disclaimers, you are able to
present a valid defense against liability in the case that customers have ignored them.
Improve customer retention
Customers who enjoy using your product are more likely to keep using it in the long
term. Providing helpful technical documentation can help in the retention of
customers by enabling them to overcome common problems by themselves. If
customers experience a high level of frustration with your product, this makes them
more likely to stop using it or to return it.
The technical manual is an investment in the company’s relationship with the
customer. The company is taking responsibility for the customer’s success and
ensuring that the product keeps working.
How to Write a Stunning Technical Manual
Now we’ll go through the exact steps you need to take to write a highly effective
technical manual.
Step-1: Define your target audience
The very first step you need to take in the process of writing your technical manual is
to define your target audience. You may think you know your customers, but the
reality is businesses are frequently operating on assumptions and misconceptions.
Get to know your users. Find out how they are using your products, what their
challenges are, and their level of technical expertise. This will enable you to pitch
your manual at the right level without pushing your users beyond their current skills.
Your customer support team can be a valuable resource when it comes to learning
about your customers. They will be able to tell you what questions customers
frequently ask and how customers are using your products.
Step 2: Design a template
All of your documents within your technical manual should follow a predefined
structure. When your users know what to expect, this improves their experience of the
manual and makes your content more consistent. This is especially critical when you
are using a team of writers to create your manual, as you most likely will be.
The template should contain vital information relating to the structure of the
document. This includes whether to use a table of contents, the headings and
subheadings, as well as formatting options.
Having a standardized template gives your writers an easier time when it comes to
creating new content. They can follow a set of predefined rules that your organization
has put in place to ensure the correct presentation of content.
Step 3: Outline the Product/feature purpose
When it comes to writing your technical manual, you need to make sure that you are
the expert when it comes to explaining your product and how to use it. Set aside
enough time to explore everything about the products and their intended use case, as
well as their features and how to operate them.
At this stage, you’ll probably want to get input from subject matter experts such as
engineers or product managers who’ll have a significant contribution to make to your
documentation.
They’ll be able to provide information about the product that you wouldn’t expect,
such as common malfunctions and methods of troubleshooting.
You might also want to survey your customers to find out how they are using your
product and its features. You can then make sure your technical manual is
comprehensive and suited to the needs of your customers.
Step 4: Add step-by-step instructions
You should present your instructions to users in a step-by-step format. There’s
nothing worse in a technical manual than a dreaded wall of text, which isn’t very
accessible to users looking to troubleshoot an issue. When your instructions are
presented step-by-step, you can explain what the system should be doing at every
stage of the operation.
Step-by-step instructions are easier to follow along and enable users to easily keep
track of their progress. Users can understand the steps they need to take beforehand,
making the troubleshooting process smoother. They are also easier to scan, enabling
users to quickly decide whether the document will solve their problem before
embarking on a fix.
Step 5: Make it visually appealing
No technical manual is complete without visual representations of the product and its
features. That might be screenshots, diagrams, photographs, or even videos. Visual
assets break up the wall of text that users might otherwise be faced with and also
enable users to more effectively interpret the documentation.
If your manual is for a software product, screenshots show customers what your
product is supposed to look like and guide them through instructions more
successfully than text alone. With product imagery and diagrams, customers are
acquainted with the correct functioning of the product and can diagnose exactly where
something has gone wrong.
Visual assets make it easier to describe the troubleshooting process and also cut down
on potential translation costs.
Step 6: Extend for peer review
Your documentation must be reviewed internally before it is ready for publication. A
group of peers that includes subject matter experts are vital for ensuring
documentation is accurate and makes sense to users. That’s why it’s also important to
employ the services of non-technical users, who will be able to highlight areas when
the documentation is difficult to understand.
Documentation with errors is worse than useless for customers. It presents a negative
brand image and means your instructions aren’t fit for purpose. You also don’t want
to represent your product in a way that goes against company strategy. Expert
reviewers can help you here.
Step 7: Publish the article
Finally, you’re ready to publish the documentation. You’re likely to have gone
through a long process to get to this stage so making your articles live is a big
milestone. After you’ve published your documentation, don’t forget to go through and
check for any errors you may have missed. This includes ensuring that your content is
displaying correctly and looks good on any device.
Make sure your customers are aware of the documentation by linking it prominently
on your website and including it in welcome emails. If your product is physical,
include printed versions with every delivery, or let customers know where they can
find your manual online.
Step 8: Collect user feedback
After publication, your technical manual is never completely finished. The advantage
of online manuals is that you can collect fairly detailed user feedback on every aspect
of your documentation. You can see how many views certain pages have received,
upvotes and downvotes, and which pages led to a support ticket.
You might also want to survey your customers to gain their qualitative feedback on
the usefulness of your documentation. Ask them whether the content met their needs
and any improvements they would like to see.
Use your customer feedback to continuously improve the documentation and ensure it
is meeting customer needs.
Step 9: Analyze, update and maintain
As your products are developed and updated, so should your technical manual. It’s
likely that your product team will add new features or fix bugs that are hampering the
user experience. Your documentation should change to reflect the product and you
should continuously check for accuracy.
Sometimes, your product might undergo such significant changes as to require the
mass update of all the screenshots in your manual. Leave time in the development
process to account for bringing the documentation up to date.
Best Practices in Writing a Technical Manual
Focus on the problem to address
When writing a technical manual, you will usually have specific problems you want
to address in a particular article. State the problem clearly in the introduction and
focus on solving the single problem per article. You don’t want to overwhelm the
users with information or distract them with lots of technical detail.
Present instructions in sequential order
When presenting your manual, make sure to structure your steps in sequential order so
as not to confuse your audience. One step should logically follow on from the other
and help customers to abide by a process.
Use simple language
Using overly technical jargon will only serve to confuse your readers and frustrate
them when they are looking for a simple answer. Use language that your customers
will find easy to understand and if you must use a technical term, explain it or link to
a glossary.
Add table of contents
Long articles will benefit from a table of contents at the beginning, breaking down the
content into headings. This is useful for users who may want to scroll to a relevant
section and prevent them having to read the entire article.
Add images wherever necessary
As we’ve already mentioned, it’s vital to provide images that can bring your manual
to life and improve comprehension for your users. Images should not be purely
decorative but employed in some way to explain part of the documentation.
Educate user about safety instructions
When writing your documentation, don’t forget to include information that educates
users about safety instructions. Learning how to correctly and safely operate the
product is an important part of the training manual and should be included right at the
beginning.
Give consideration for disabled users
When publishing your documentation, you should think about how it is presented. For
example, using a san serif font and high contrast colors for the text and background.
These accessibility considerations are crucial for disabled users who might suffer
from low vision, for example.