[Product name] quick start guide

Get a new user from the box or a new account to one working result. Replace the blue placeholders and delete the grey notes as you go.

Product

[Name and model or version]

First result

[What the user has at the end, such as a first scan or a first sent invoice]

Time needed

[About N minutes, measured with a new user]

Guide version

[1.0, date]

What you'll have at the end

One sentence that names the result. On a printed sheet it is also the title.

[Set up your product and do the first real thing with it]

Before you start

  • In the box: [every item, named as on the packing list]

  • You also need: [computer, phone, account, app or permissions]

For hardware, add one line here, before step 1: “Read the safety information on page N of the user manual before you start.” If the user needs an account, link to sign-up here so step 1 is the first action in the product itself.

Steps

Three to seven steps. Where the action happens, then the action, then what the user should see.

  1. [First action, with the exact label on the product or screen] You should see: [the light, sound or screen that follows]

  2. [Second action] You should see: [what changes]

  3. [Third action] You should see: [what changes]

  4. [Fourth action] You should see: [what changes]

  5. [Last action] You should see: [the first real result]

See example steps

  1. Plug the adapter into the back of the scanner and into an outlet. The light on the front turns white.

  2. On your computer, install Wren Scan from wren.example/start and open it. The app shows “No scanner found”.

  3. Connect the scanner to the computer with the USB-C cable. Within a few seconds the app shows “Wren D2 ready”.

  4. Put any page face down in the feeder and press Scan. The page appears in the app within about five seconds.

From the Wren D2, an invented document scanner. Each step names something to press and ends with a change the user can check.

One action, one result. If a step needs two actions, split it, and keep explanations out of the steps. Past about seven steps, check whether settings, accessories or options belong in the user manual.

Check that it worked

[Describe the first result so the user can recognize it: what they see, and where it is saved]

If something goes wrong

The two or three problems new users hit most often, starting from what they see.

What you see

What to do

[Exact message, light or symptom]

[The fix, in one or two steps]

[Exact message, light or symptom]

[The fix, in one or two steps]

[Exact message, light or symptom]

[The fix, in one or two steps]

Next steps

  • [The task most users do next] with a link to its guide

  • [Where the full user manual or documentation is]

  • [How to get help: support address, phone or help center]

Safety and support

  • Safety: [where the full safety information is, and any warning the user must see before using the product]

  • Support: [help center, email or phone, and what to have ready, such as the serial number]

Before you publish

  • A new user finished it without help, and the time in the header is what it took them

  • Every step says what the user should see

  • Button, light and part names match the product exactly

  • The steps match the setup chapter of the user manual

  • The most common problems from testing are in the table

  • The model and guide version are printed on the guide