Ashton Petersen

Project 2: How-To Guide (Revised)

Core principle: A technical guide succeeds when its reader can quickly find, understand, apply, and verify the information.

1. Define the Reader, Task, and Limits

Start with the situation in which the guide will be used. A technician beside a machine needs different detail than a design reviewer at a desk. The reader, setting, and consequence of error determine what belongs in the document.

1. Identify the outcome: State what the reader should be able to do, decide, calculate, inspect, or verify.

2. Describe the audience: Note the reader’s role, prior knowledge, vocabulary, tools, and access to other documents.

3. Define the setting: Consider time pressure, lighting, noise, protective equipment, screen size, and print or electronic use.

4. Set the scope: State what the guide covers, excludes, assumes, and requires before work begins.

5. Gather controlled sources: Use current drawings, standards, specifications, test data, manufacturer instructions, and subject-matter experts. Record each source’s edition and date.

Key Terms

• Scope: the exact work and conditions the guide covers and excludes.

• Prerequisite: a tool, permission, skill, condition, or document required before starting.

• Acceptance criterion: a measurable condition that determines whether a result passes.

• Verification point: a check confirming that an action produced the expected result.

Scope example: This guide covers inspection and restart of Pump P-104 after routine seal replacement. It does not cover electrical repair, shaft alignment, internal disassembly, or operation above rated pressure.

2. Organize Information Around Use

Choose an order that matches the reader’s goal, then make that order visible through headings and navigation.

• Task order: procedures and setup; arrange information in the sequence performed.

• System order: component or architecture explanations; move from system to subsystem to part.

• Decision order: selection and troubleshooting; organize around conditions, choices, and outcomes.

• Reference order: rules, values, and definitions; arrange by topic, number, or alphabetically.

Include a Predictable Document Anatomy

• Title, owner, document number, revision, and date.

• Purpose, audience, scope, exclusions, prerequisites, and limits.

• Required tools, materials, personal protective equipment (PPE), definitions, and units.

• Numbered procedures supported by warnings, examples, equations, diagrams, or decision paths.

• Verification methods, acceptance criteria, troubleshooting, records, references, and revision history.

3. Draft Instructions That Lead to Action

• Use one consistent term for each part, process, and action.

• Define acronyms and specialized terms at first use.

• Begin procedural steps with verbs such as inspect, connect, calculate, record, or verify.

• Place conditions before actions when the condition changes what the reader must do.

• Keep one primary action in each step and state the expected result.

• Use must or shall for requirements, should for recommendations, and may for options.

• Replace vague words such as carefully, soon, adequate, or tight with measurable values.

Place Safety Information Before the Hazard

A warning should identify the hazard, possible consequence, and preventive action. Keep warnings separate from ordinary notes and do not rely on color alone.

Weak: Be careful when opening the valve.

Stronger: WARNING—Pressurized fluid may cause eye injury. Verify that the upstream gauge reads 0 kPa and wear a face shield before opening Valve V-12.

Match the Communication Mode to the Need

• Numbered steps: actions that must occur in sequence.

• Bullets or checklists: related items, inspections, and repeated verification.

• Diagrams or photographs: equipment setup, locations, and spatial relationships.

• Flowcharts: branching decisions and troubleshooting.

• Equations or tables: quantitative relationships and exact values; define units and valid ranges.

Build Verification into Every Critical Step

• Verification point: state the expected reading, condition, or physical response.

• Decision point: tell the reader what to do when the result is inside or outside the acceptable range.

• Recordkeeping: identify the value, date, equipment ID, or approval to record and where it belongs.

Example: Run Pump P-104 for 30 seconds. Confirm that discharge pressure remains between 200 and 220 kPa and that no leakage is visible. If either condition is not met, stop and isolate the pump.

4. Test, Revise, and Release

• Technical review: a qualified reviewer checks facts, calculations, units, drawings, standards, limits, warnings, and acceptance criteria.

• Usability review: a representative reader completes the task without coaching while the writer records pauses, wrong turns, skipped warnings, and questions.

• Publication review: confirm headings, accessibility, grammar, links, references, document number, owner, approval, date, and revision history.

Revision rule: Fix every place where the reader hesitates, interprets a step differently than intended, or needs missing information. A usability test evaluates the document, not the reader.

Quick Release Checklist

☐ The purpose, audience, scope, exclusions, prerequisites, and limits are clear.

☐ Each step contains a direct action and an observable or measurable result.

☐ Terms, units, warnings, standards, visuals, and acceptance criteria are accurate and consistent.

☐ A representative reader has used the guide without coaching.

☐ The version, date, owner, approval, references, and revision history are current.

Complete Sample Engineering Technical Guide

This fictional example demonstrates structure and wording only; it is not an approved operating procedure.

Inspection and Restart of Pump P-104 After Routine Seal Replacement

• Document control: WI-P104-07, Revision A; owner: Mechanical Systems.

• Purpose: Confirm that the pump is correctly reassembled, leak-free, and operating within the approved pressure range.

• Scope: External inspection and restart only; excludes electrical repair, shaft alignment, internal disassembly, and operation above rated pressure.

• Authorized user: Trained mechanical technician.

• Prerequisites and PPE: Approved work order, completed seal replacement, authorized lockout/tagout release, manufacturer manual, safety glasses, gloves, and face shield.

WARNING—Pressurized fluid may cause injury. Before opening a valve or loosening a connection, verify that the upstream and downstream gauges read 0 kPa. Wear a face shield during the first restart.

Procedure

1. Inspect the pump casing, seal area, coupling guard, and nearby floor.

• Verification: No loose hardware, damage, pooled fluid, or foreign material.

2. Verify that the four seal-housing fasteners are present and torque-marked.

• Verification: All fasteners are seated and torque marks align; otherwise, stop and obtain the approved torque specification.

3. Confirm the suction and discharge valves match the approved pre-start positions.

• Verification: Valve positions match the piping diagram and work order.

4. Remove lockout/tagout only after the authorized employee releases the equipment.

• Verification: The release is documented and all personnel are clear.

5. Start Pump P-104 and observe it for 30 seconds from the designated safe position.

• Verification: Pressure remains between 200 and 220 kPa with no leakage, abnormal vibration, or unusual noise.

6. Place the pump in service only when all criteria are met; otherwise stop, isolate, and report it.

• Verification: Record the measured pressure, equipment status, date, technician, work-order number, and any deviation.

Why this sample works: It identifies the reader and boundaries before action, places the warning before the hazard, begins steps with verbs, gives a check after each action, and specifies the required record.

References

Google. (2025, March 28). Audience. Google for Developers. https://developers.google.com/tech-writing/one/audience

Hirshorn, S. R., Voss, L. D., & Bromley, L. K. (2017). NASA systems engineering handbook (NASA/SP-2016-6105 Rev. 2). National Aeronautics and Space Administration. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20170001761

Last, S. (2026). Technical writing essentials: Designing professional communications in the technical fields (Expanded 2nd ed.). Pressbooks. https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/technicalwriting2ed/

Thompson, A., & Taylor, B. N. (2008). Guide for the use of the International System of Units (SI) (NIST Special Publication 811). National Institute of Standards and Technology. https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.811e2008