Robot Manual

[Jeremiah Johnson]

Okay, so I'm having a little bit of trouble with my Technical Writing project. I have to design and write a manual for my Vex robot.

I was hoping someone could give me some ideas on to what you, as a user of this somewhat complex robot, would like in a user manual. If deemed helpful, a small video of my robot can be found here.

I have some basic ideas:

Troubleshooting problems and how to run the robot. Also, a step-by-step process of replacing chains.

Thanks.

Jeremiah

Have a section outlining the bot from the top down, or bottom up, with small pictures and lots of clear description on what each section does.

Other than that, just hand the manual and a robot to your mother (or grandmother) and if they're able to run it in a bit, then it's good. Write down any additional questions they ask, and add the answers in there.

Also, a FAQ section is good.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Budda,
The guidlines for my tech writing class was always write for a person who doesn't know the subject. Write for someone who has never seen a VEX robot so start by describing where the front of the robot is and then go from there. Visualize for instance, how you are going to tell someone to turn the robot on by describing where the power switch is located and what it looks like.

[KTorak]

This doesn't really agree with the above poster, but my Technical Writing book always said tailor you writing to your audience. You have to figure that fairly intelligent people would by a Vex robot. Although there is a market for younger kids who have graduated from legos (but I still havent ).

If I were doing this, I'd include an overview of the robot, a section with the functions/how to operate them, a troubleshooting guide with common issues, and a FAQ.

Note: I have never been introduced to the VEX 'stuff' so my ideas might not fit exactly.

[Jeremiah Johnson]

Thanks for the replies everyone... they're great. I should probably start by actually reading my technical writing book, all of these suggestions are right along the lines of what I was thinking. I've already gotten part of it done, just need to get the photos taken and put in. Hopefully by mid-next week I'll have this on as a White Paper on here.