Documentation > Manuals (Procedural and User)

Very often procedural or user documentation is a mere afterthought... something thrown together at the last minute before the product is released. Experience has taught us that can be a big mistake. Poorly written manuals, dull and tedious documentation, and confusing handbooks often lead to user frustration, unfinished or improperly completed tasks, unnecessary overtime, and even lost business.

Your systems, products and research deserve to be supported by the clearest, most intuitive and user-friendly documentation.

While procedural documentation is often a perfect undertaking for companies to outsource, this is not a project that you would want to outsource "offshore". Good user instructions need to be very clear, concise, and non-ambiguous - it requires real-life fluency in the language in which it is being produced.

So whether your project requires original material or an update of existing material, our staff of professional writers have the knowledge, skills, and experience to help you create and refine all your printed and electronic documents. We can work from your company’s existing style guides, or our own proven style standards to produce manuals that are attractive, accurate, and readable, and that will leave a positive impression of your company’s commitment to service and quality.

With every project, we address the following elements:

Target Audience
Organization
Accuracy
Completeness
Cohesiveness
Consistency
Presentation
Readability
Product Compatibility

At Cynthia Farren Consulting, we construct clear, concise documentation targeted to your needs and written specifically for your designated audience. Our writers, with their diverse business backgrounds, can create interesting, easy-to-read software manuals, policy and procedure documentation, installation guides, instructional manuals, employee handbooks, web content, training manuals, and much more.

So whatever your writing needs, let the professionals at CFC help you provide your users with the best documentation possible.

Quick Reference Guides

Few users have the time or desire to read through a complete User’s Manual. Quick Reference Guides are a great way to get users up and running fast. They also serve as a great resource when a user has a quick question about a process or procedure.

Our Quick Reference Guides are designed to help your users tackle job-specific tasks quickly and easily. Each guide features a simple, easy-to-read format supported with illustrated examples and clear definitions of terms to help users maximize their productivity.

We can develop Quick Reference Guides for you that:

Help your users learn your process, product or service quickly and easily,
Help your users answer questions and solve problems without having to consult your support staff,
Can dramatically reduce your training and support costs.

We also conduct usability testing to make sure our Quick Reference Guides are effective and contain the key information your users really need.

Used as a stand-alone reference tool or as a supplement to a more comprehensive User Manual, Quick Reference Guides are a great way to shorten the learning curve. Contact Cynthia Farren Consulting and we’ll be happy to show you examples of some of the many successful Quick Reference Guides we’ve created.