Re: Style/Layout for Manuals

Subject: Re: Style/Layout for Manuals
From: "Frick, Geri" <Geri -dot- Frick -at- PSS -dot- BOEING -dot- COM>
Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1999 06:50:19 -0800

We use Information Mapping here in my department at Boeing. They have a site, http://www.infomap.com/ on the internet, but I couldn't find any examples in a quick look around. They offer seminars (two days I believe) that are very in depth on the technique.

The technique is essentially to chunk each idea into a block, title it with a very short description (less than four words typically), and use lines above and below the chunk to further separate it out from the other ideas. We create a 2-column table in Word; the title block is 1.58" and the chunk block is 5.08" wide.

This format has its place and is not appropriate for everything. I think is especially good for training, reference, or operations manuals. The reader scans the titles (block titles) to find the information they need. Very quick.

One thing I like very much (and this is personal preference, I know) is all the white space created with this format. I don't know if there are any books out there on this technique. Maybe someone has written a journal ariticle about it?

Good luck.

Geri Frick
Technical Communicator
The Boeing Company
Delivery Systems Certification & Training


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