The project
After studying information architecture principles for technical writing (DITA), I decided to test my knowledge by creating a user help guide where none existed. I created my guide using a free trial of ClickHelp, which I chose since it is browser-based. That meant I didn’t need any additional software or downloads. Go to the ClickHelp site
This platform is quite basic, but it suited my purposes since I wanted to be able to practice user guide documentation while demonstrating my ability to write clearly and concisely.
I created documentation for InTouch Language Inc, the phone-based English company I’m currently working with part-time. Their existing training for teachers exists in discrete documents scattered across emails, videos and various cloud drives. Not to mention, it’s not written by native English speakers.
My final version is, in fact, a draft, because I have created this independent of a team or subject matter expert. If this were more than a practice exercise, creating and maintaining user guides would be an iterative process.
Regardless, working on this project made me happy. I’d love to do more work like this in the future, especially with different platforms.
The guide exists in Word doc format and HTML. Here are some screenshots from the HTML version, which I’ve hosted on Github.
Below are some screenshots that go into more detail about the guide.
