[Thorough Explanation] How to Create Foolproof Manuals

1. What is a manual in the first place? What is it created for?

Before we share the key points of creating a fail-proof manual, let's first explain what a manual is and why it is created.

・What is a manual?
A manual can be expressed in Japanese as "guide," "instruction manual," or "procedure document." It is a document that summarizes the methods, procedures, and points of caution for conducting business or tasks. Additionally, manuals can be used to compile knowledge and know-how within an organization for information sharing among employees.
When explaining business procedures, it is often referred to as "business procedure document" or "business guide," while when explaining how to use systems or software, it is commonly called "instruction manual" or "operation manual."

・What is the difference between a manual and a procedure document?
A manual is a document that comprehensively explains the content related to business and operations. It describes not only procedures and operating methods but also provides an overview of the business, important notes, and troubleshooting as needed.
On the other hand, a procedure document is a document that explains specific and detailed content about particular tasks or operations.
While a manual is intended to promote an overall understanding that includes background and context, a procedure document explains the steps to perform actual tasks or operations accurately and efficiently.
Procedure documents are often provided as part of a manual.

- Purpose of the Manual
The purpose of the manual within the company is to standardize operations, that is, to raise the quality of work to a certain level and maintain that state. Let's take a look at the specific purposes of the manual.

①Standardization of Operations
In addition to the standardization of operations, manuals have various benefits.

①Reducing Education Costs

Having a manual that explains the business can reduce training costs. For example, it takes a lot of effort to teach new employees verbally from scratch. By having them read the manual in advance, it eliminates the need to teach everything from one to ten.

③Prevention of Business Dependence on Individuals

Manuals play a role in preventing the personalization of work by ensuring that the procedures and precautions of the business are understood by many people. From the perspective of business continuity, tasks that can only be done by specific individuals are nothing but risks for companies. In order to prevent such risks, it is important to standardize work through manuals.

④ Understanding the overall picture of the business

By reviewing the manual, you can grasp the overall picture of the business. Even new employees who lack familiarity with the operations can gain a certain understanding of the work by reading the manual. Additionally, compiling the entire business process into a manual can serve as an opportunity to reassess the business content. By systematizing the overall flow of operations and sharing it with stakeholders, each role becomes visible. As a result, it becomes possible to identify areas where work volume is concentrated in a single flow or where there are unnecessary flows, leading to increased efficiency in operations.

2. Procedure for Creating Manuals

After introducing the purpose and benefits of the manual, we will now introduce the steps for creating the manual. The general steps are as follows.

①Determine the users and purpose of the manual
②Organize the information to be included in the manual
③Create the structure and headings of the manual
④Create the manual
⑤Distribute and update the manual

① Determine the manual's users and purpose of use

As the first step, determine the users and purpose of the manual.
"Why" and "for whom" should be clarified for the role and purpose of this manual.

② Organize the information to be included in the manual

As the next step, we will organize the information to be included in the manual.
Let's review the business content and work procedures, and thoroughly identify any important points and precautions related to the work.

③ Create the structure and headings of the manual

The third step is to create the structure and headings of the manual. This involves considering what to include, in what units and order, and what titles to assign, resulting in a draft table of contents. It is not an exaggeration to say that the success of the manual depends on its structure and headings. The structure and headings (table of contents) can make it easier or harder to find the information you are looking for.

④Creating Manuals

Once you have created the structure and headings, the fourth step is to create the manual. Here are three points to make the manual easy to understand.
The first point is to utilize images, photos, and videos. A picture is worth a thousand words! Let's actively use images and tables to ensure that anyone can easily understand the content.
The second point is to describe the purpose and reasons for the tasks. While the purpose may be clear to experienced users, it may not be the same for beginners. Additionally, writing down the reasons for performing a task deepens the understanding of the work involved.
The third point is to make it easy to search for where information is located. By including keywords in the headings and text, even someone seeing the manual for the first time can quickly find the necessary information. Including keywords can improve the ease of finding information.
After considering the above points and creating a draft of the manual, read through it from start to finish to check for accuracy. You may also want to try performing the actual tasks while reading the manual, imagining yourself as the user. When creating the manual, it’s easy to focus on writing explanations and overlook unexpected details. It’s important to step away from the creator's perspective and check for any omissions in the explanations, errors, or potentially misleading expressions. It’s a painstaking task, but by repeating this process, you can enhance the quality of the manual.

⑤ Distribution and Updating of Manuals

As the final step, we will distribute the completed manual.
If there are any feedback from the field or updates to the work content, let's update the manual. Additionally, the manual is valuable when the information is up to date.

Related Blogs

6 Points for Creating Business Manuals

3. Tips for Creating Foolproof Manuals!

In this chapter, we will introduce common examples of failures and key points for creating successful manuals.

Failure Example ①: Difficult to read manual

The first example of failure is a manual that is difficult to see and read. Manuals with typos and poorly written sentences lose credibility and are not read. Additionally, manuals that lack a consistent layout and are densely packed with text will also not be read. Without accuracy and immediate clarity, people will stop utilizing the manual.

Point 1 for not failing: Easy-to-read and easy-to-understand manual

There are three points to make a manual easy to read.
The first is to use templates. The advantage of templates is that the design and format of the text are already organized. By simply writing the text according to the template, you can efficiently create easy-to-read content.
The second is to use bullet points and subheadings. Bullet points and subheadings are concise summaries of the information you want to convey to the reader. By using bullet points and subheadings, readers can quickly understand the content.
The third is to be careful of typos and errors. This is fundamental, but if there are typos or errors, it lowers credibility and the manual may not be utilized.

Example of Failure ②: Manual where it is not clear where things are written

The second example of failure is a manual where it is unclear where to find what is written. Manuals serve the role of providing solutions when problems arise. However, if it is difficult to find solutions when in trouble, what happens? The manual will no longer be relied upon, and people will not feel the need for the manual.

Point 2 to Avoid Failure: Create Clear Table of Contents and Headings

When searching for the desired page, many people look for their target page in the table of contents. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to how the table of contents and headings are structured. Consider what users are looking for by creating a table of contents by purpose, creating a table of contents by function, and placing items to refer to when in trouble, and make sure to create the table of contents and headings accordingly.

Failure Example 3: Business manuals scattered throughout the company

The third failure example is that the business manuals are scattered. When there are multiple manuals in various places, it becomes unclear which manual to refer to. Additionally, there is the disadvantage of taking time to search for information.
If the management and operational system is not established, manuals will end up being scattered within the company. When the management and operational methods differ by person or department, there may be omissions in updating manuals or failures to revise old manuals.
When the management and operational methods differ by person or department, there may be omissions in updating manuals or failures to revise old manuals.

Point 3: Unify Management and Operation Methods to Avoid Failure

The reason for scattered manuals within the company is as mentioned above, due to the unclear management and operation methods. As a countermeasure, it is important to designate an administrator and unify the management and operation methods within the company. If management and operation span across multiple departments or teams, it is necessary to establish rules and regulations.

Failure Example ④: Manual Not Updated

The third failure example is that the business manuals are scattered. When there are multiple manuals in various places, it becomes unclear which manual to refer to. Additionally, there is the disadvantage of taking time to search for information.
If the management and operational system is not established, manuals will end up being scattered within the company. If the management methods vary by person or department, there may be omissions in updating manuals or failures to revise old manuals.

Point 4 for avoiding failure: Determine the rules and methods for updates and operations.

The fundamental reason why manuals become outdated is that the update rules and operational methods are not established. First, let's set basic rules, such as determining the timing of updates, the person responsible for updates, and the person responsible for checking the update content. Having a person in charge of deciding whether the manual needs to be updated in the event of a change in operations will lead to even smoother operations.

Failure Example 5: Insufficient Resources Lead to Manual Creation Failure

The fifth example of failure is resource shortage. Business manuals require more personnel than expected. Due to personnel changes and busy work conditions, there are many cases where manual creation is delayed.

Point 5 for avoiding failure: Work as a team or outsource the creation.

As a point to avoid failure, it is important to work on manual creation as a team. Working with a small number of people, such as one or two, will be a heavy burden and the work will not progress easily. However, working as a team will greatly increase the efficiency of manual creation. Also, by having many people see it, the manual will become more refined.
Another point is outsourcing. If manual creation is stalled due to lack of resources, consider outsourcing as well.

Failure Example 6: Manual creation is put off

The final example of failure is when manual creation is put off and it takes longer than expected to complete. This can lead to a situation where the manual is not released in time when it is truly needed.

Point 6: Decide on a schedule until completion in advance to avoid failure.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

Before starting the creation process, we will determine the schedule until completion. It is important to decide when you want to release the manual and then work backwards to establish the overall schedule.
For example, if it is a manual for new employees, it needs to be completed by April when the new employees join, so we aim for completion around mid-March.
We will consider how much time is needed for each of the following processes to create the manual and when we need to start the manual creation.

・Scope of the manual (What and how much to teach to new employees)
・Format of the manual (File format, design, etc.)
・Content and order of presentation (What kind of table of contents to create and what content to include based on the scope of the manual)
・Collection of materials to be used
・Creation of content
・Confirmation and feedback from stakeholders (Consideration of who to confirm with is also necessary)
・Incorporation of feedback and finalization

In addition to the time required for creation, let's establish a reasonable schedule that takes into account busy periods and strive to proceed according to the schedule. By incorporating busy periods into the schedule in advance, it becomes easier to secure time for manual creation.

4. To make the manual useful! Key points for manual operation

Once the manual is completed, it is not the end. It only becomes effective when it is widely used. Therefore, in this chapter, we will also introduce key points for creating manual operation rules.

Point 1: Help stakeholders understand the importance of the manual

Let's ensure that stakeholders understand the importance of manuals for standardizing and streamlining operations. If it is a manual used within a department, explain the purpose and benefits of the manual in a meeting.
It is also necessary for the manual creators themselves to recognize its importance.
In one company, the personalization of operations had become a problem. The person in charge, who was instructed by the company to compile their responsibilities into a manual, realized that identifying all aspects of their work, including the finer details, and organizing the information in a way that is easy for other employees to understand, would lead to a review and streamlining of operational procedures. As a result, they were able to share the created manual with a sense of its usefulness in their work.

Point 2: Store in an easily understandable location

Store in shared folders used by departments or teams with clear names, and when informing about the manuals, be sure to also inform where they are stored.

Point 3: Regularly update and improve

We sometimes receive questions from users of the manual or requests for additional explanations. If necessary, we reflect the users' requests and continue to provide accurate information, fostering the awareness that "problems can be solved by reading the manual," thereby creating a cycle in which the manual is utilized.

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5. Summary

How was it?
This time, we mainly introduced how to create a fail-proof manual. We showed some examples of failed manuals, but the solutions are all very simple.

Manuals will undoubtedly become more important in modern society, where work style reform and remote work are advancing.

That said, while many understand the importance, I believe there are many who feel that creating manuals is difficult.
Especially, creating manuals alongside regular duties can be challenging. Therefore, I recommend outsourcing manual creation. In particular, I suggest entrusting it to professionals who specialize in manual creation.

Among the many manual creation companies, the most recommended is "Human Science". Human Science is a professional in creating business manuals with a track record of 215 companies and 2854 manuals created. Here are three reasons why we recommend Human Science.

Reason 1: Manual creation by specialized consultants
Specialized consultants handle everything from research to manual creation.
Even if there are no materials to work with, they will conduct interviews and create the manual.
They also specialize in improving manuals and strive for the ideal manual.

Reason ②: We not only create manuals but also provide support for their implementation
Human Science also focuses on the important phase of "implementation" that follows manual creation. By implementing various measures such as supporting regular updates of manuals and conducting manual creation seminars, we approach the goal of ensuring that manuals are effectively integrated into the workplace.

Reason ③: Creation of Video Content
Human Science handles everything from planning video content to filming and content creation. In today's world, where there is a high affinity for video platforms like YouTube, manuals that are not only "read" but also "watched" are effective.