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User Manual Critique
User manuals are intended to help and guide a person on how to use a product or systems. For example, Photoshop's user manual shows new users or those looking to learn something new different techniques and how to move around it.
In this evaluation or critique of the Photoshop's user manual I will focus on these five criteria: organization, content, visual graphics or layout of the page, and efficiency of the manual.
Organization
The overall organization of the Photoshop's user manual is acceptable for an online user manual. From a judging eye, the first thing that this user manual is missing is a table of contents. The table of content will let the reader know what the user manual will be covering as this serves as a pre-reading part of the manual. Also, some readers just look for specific tasks and no time to read the whole manual.
The writer also uses the easiest to hardest organization method. This method helps novice Photoshopers to read a brief introduction to the menu bars, tool box, and option bars. Then slowly teaches the user how to save a document, how to open a file, saving it to the web, etc. When it comes to software user manuals starting from the easiest to the hardest part of the software is the best way to teach someone who has no idea where to start.
User manuals are intended to help and guide a person on how to use a product or systems. For example, Photoshop's user manual shows new users or those looking to learn something new different techniques and how to move around it.
In this evaluation or critique of the Photoshop's user manual I will focus on these five criteria: organization, content, visual graphics or layout of the page, and efficiency of the manual.
Organization
The overall organization of the Photoshop's user manual is acceptable for an online user manual. From a judging eye, the first thing that this user manual is missing is a table of contents. The table of content will let the reader know what the user manual will be covering as this serves as a pre-reading part of the manual. Also, some readers just look for specific tasks and no time to read the whole manual.
The writer also uses the easiest to hardest organization method. This method helps novice Photoshopers to read a brief introduction to the menu bars, tool box, and option bars. Then slowly teaches the user how to save a document, how to open a file, saving it to the web, etc. When it comes to software user manuals starting from the easiest to the hardest part of the software is the best way to teach someone who has no idea where to start.