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Is the manual dying or is it dead? If the phone in your pocket or the satnav on your windscreen needs an inch-thick manual, arguably it has failed. And, anyway, who needs a printed document when there’s Google? – a portal to more guidance and tutorials than could ever be squeezed into a black and white booklet.
But is a world without manuals so bright? Some in the technical communications field believe the manual is an art worth preserving. No surprise there, but what would we do without them?
As the paper manual has withered there are signs of life on the internet. Even the magicians at Apple provide online guides. Elsewhere, hundreds of websites and forums have sprung up with how-to video clips and pages of instructions.
Ellis Pratt explains that “People under 27 have never known life without the internet and so they behave differently when they get stuck. Even if there is a manual, you can put it in their hands and they’ll still go straight to Google.”
But what if you’re older than 27?
“When a senior colleague was recently convinced by his teenage children that he needed an iPhone, the shiny device sat in its shiny box for two days (“Sync it to iTunes? Can’t I just make a telephone call?”). On the third day, he took it to a shop where a “nice young man” (definitely under 27) sorted him out.”
Reaching for Google has become a relex for those raised in the IT world (the under 27s), but it’s not second nature to those who grew up without the Internet to run to to look up all of life’s questions. Some learn, some will always question.
Theresa Cameron has traced the history of the manual to a 4th century BC Babylonian clay tablet that details a step-by-step “Guide to Inducing Dreams” – a user manual. Theresa asserts that the more things change, the more they stay the same. “The art in our job is to put ourselves in the position of the end user and translate engineer speak” she says. Nothing has fundamentally changed – except the medium used to convey the message. If we need to go to Google, a manual or a stone tablet, we’re always going to need someone to explain how to use the damn thing.
I guess the iPad is a little different being more of a consumption device rather than creation gadget. Although, let’s face it, there will always be people who need a manual in order to switch on a TV.
I do agree with the shifting change in culture though – when stuck, the digitally included will go online for answers, with crowdsourced responses and support forums replacing the ‘official’ line of help.
The usability of devices is also continullay improving. User centric design is a major commercial driving force these days, making features more intuitive to use. Apple has been a leader in this for years. Often manuals were/are documenting the results of poorly designed products.
Then, of course, there is the world of manufacturing or special equipment. When people work in noisy, dirty, sterile, hot, cold – well, all sorts of different environments – they don’t always have access to Google or YouTube for information. They might require a laminated sheet of paper with clear/plain language instructions. They might require a printed manual because an electronic device won’t work. I think there are times when we make a lot of assumptions and generalizations about that demographic called “users”. That’s why I love Theresa’s closing quote: “The manual has changed, but it’s not dead.”