Over the last 20 years, I have done a lot of product demos for our knowledge ops platform, ScreenSteps.
Sometimes before a demo, I get a lot of information about what the person is looking for. Other times I’ve had to come in cold.
Many times when a prospective client comes to a demo they are looking for something very specific. They have already decided what they need to fix their problem and they want to see if our tool has the predetermined solution they are looking for.
And over the last 20 years, what is the number #1 thing people are looking for?
Better search.
I can’t tell you how many times I have heard, “We have tons of documentation. The problem is that nobody can find it.”
As I dig a bit deeper it becomes clear that the assumption is that if someone could find the documentation they already have then their problems would be solved.
A False Summit
I have also been part of many knowledge base implementations. And they are full of false summits.
A "false summit" is a term used in hiking that describes a peak that appears to be the pinnacle or summit of a mountain but upon reaching it, you realize that the actual summit is higher and still some distance away. This happens because the true summit is obscured from view by the false summit in front of you, leading you to believe you are approaching the top when you really aren’t.
Finding you have arrived at a false summit can be deflating.
And this is what happens when people think that “search” is their only problem.
In reality, “search” is one of their problems. But it’s only the beginning.
Findable, Followable, Scannable
What these customers find is that when they take their existing documentation and import it into a system that makes it easier to find, people still don’t use it.
“Search” was a false summit. They still have a lot of mountain left to climb.
Knowledge doesn’t create value when it is captured. It doesn’t create value when it is found. It only creates value when it is used correctly and efficiently.
To be used correctly someone has to:
Find it
Follow it without needing additional assistance
Be able to scan it without missing key steps
We call this being Findable, Followable, and Scannable.
Findable
I don’t need to spend too much time on what findable means. Everyone knows the frustration of not being able to find something we need.
But too many people believe that the only solution to making documentation more findable is by using a better search algorithm.
But, even with all of the magic of Google, people spend a ton of time and money making their content more discoverable on Google. It is called Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
When you are writing documentation you need to practice your own form of SEO. It isn’t enough to just write stuff down. You need to create it in a way that people will be able to find it.
Two tips:
Break apart long documents
Improve your titles to match what people are searching for
Those two tweaks will make your guides much more findable.
Followable
The next summit is making sure your guides are followable. Followable means that an employee with basic background knowledge (what we call “foundational knowledge”) can successfully follow the digital guide without needing to ask someone for help.
This is where most documentation that has to deal with any sort of complexity falls flat on its face.
One of the most painful things you can do is watch someone else use the documentation or digital guide you created. You quickly discover that your guide is not as complete or clear as you thought it was.
I have been doing this for over 20 years and still, my guides are never perfect the first time.
But unless the guide you create is followable it doesn’t matter how great your search is.
The key to making a digital guide followable to:
Hold yourself to a high standard
Apply the right principles
Iterate until you get it right
What principles should you apply?
Create recipes instead of encyclopedias
Click here to see a previous Knowledge Champion post all about this topic
Separate foundational and actionable knowledge
Click here to see a blog post about the difference between the two
Write for experienced AND first-time users
Click here to see a Knowledge Champion post about creating guides for repeat users
Scannable
If your team can find and follow your digital guides successfully then you are in a great place. But there is one last summit you will want to climb - that is making your guides scannable.
Let me share a story of why this matters. Someone just told me a story of an IT desk that had to onboard 300 new employees a week. As part of that process, they needed to set up their mobile phones.
There was one step that everyone seemed to skip and it caused them to get into an endless loop that inevitably required intervention from the IT desk.
It was so frustrating because the instructions were both findable and followable. If you followed the instructions then you wouldn’t have a problem. But despite this, people were skipping this important step.
What did they do? Some innovative member of the support team recorded a 30-second video that said, “If you don’t follow every instruction below you are going to have this problem,” and then highlighted the key step so that you couldn’t help but see it.
Problem solved.
Scannable means I can’t mess up. It is almost impossible for me to not notice a key step. Scannable means that I can successfully follow the guide while talking to a customer or employee on the phone or in person, even if it is the first time I have ever seen it.
If I have to stop and read five paragraphs of text or watch a 10-minute video then the guide isn’t scannable.
Scannable guides have the following characteristics:
Short, actionable text
Liberal use of screenshots
Highlighted important text (but not overdone)
Detail that is revealed as needed (not all at once)
Tying it all together
Don’t get fooled into thinking search is your only problem. Search may be one of your problems, but unless you do the proper analysis you may find there are other things you need to fix besides your search engine.
When your content is findable, followable, and scannable you really have reached the summit where you don’t have to answer nearly as many questions or fix so many mistakes. When you reach that summit be sure to celebrate your success and enjoy the view!
Free Resource: Digital Guides Template Packet
Here is a link to a free Digital Guides Template Packet. Feel free to use this packet to help you create digital guides that are findable, followable, and scannable. Happy writing!