User Documentation Style Guide (team planning notes)

Owned by Sarit Hand
Last updated: Apr 03, 2020
2 min read

@Angela White @Johanna Carll @Jessica Crouch @Sarit Hand

The following is a list of items to take into consideration while building out a Style Guide. Feel free to add notes or make comments on any of it.

Step 1. Layout and format - create a template

Basic standards for accessibility

  1. Font

    1. style-Sans serif (question from Johanna: can users change the font style? Google search says need to be system admin and I don’t see a way to change it. When copy into Word, comes out as 12 point Times New Roman)

    2. Font size-12 (comment from Johanna: it looks like only way to change font size is to use the header dropdown, so maybe instead specify using “normal text” for paragraphs?)

    3. Font has to be black on white page

  2. Paragraph format

    1. Line spacing

      1. around images - double space

      2. Paragraph - single

    2. Align left, no indent for paragraphs

    3. Use underline for links only.

    4. Do not use all caps.

    5. Use only one space after period.

    6. One line space between paragraphs to separate them since they are aligned left without indent.

    7. Sections/Bullets/numbering

  3. Formatting headings -

    1. Page title - pre defined by Confluence, when page is created, it will automatically set the format, It uses the preset Heading 1

    2. section titles - Manually formatted, Start with Heading 2, use Heading presets in sequential order for nested sections

  4. Formatting screen shots

    1. Where to place

      1. Before or after a section?

      2. Immediately following the descriptive text? i.e. if we do step by step instructions would we want a screen shot for each step?

    2. Use borderlines around the image to make it more visible - Yes

    3. How much to crop out (if you crop out too much, the image loses context.)

    4. Using arrows to point to specific items on the image? - has to be done outside confluence

      1. Style

      2. Size

      3. color

Step 2. Content structure

  1. Layout - Consider using Sections and page table of content macro (Possibly consolidate pages, improve navigation?)

    1. Start each page with a narrative/explain the function?

    2. Followed by step by step instructions in list format?

      1. bullets or numbering

    3. End with use case scenarios? Should we have? If so, how many variations?

    4. Info boxes

  2. Linking to glossary

    1. What needs an entry in the glossary?

    2. How to return from the glossary

  3. How to use abbreviations.

Step 3. Format the style guide to mirror the style guide.

Step 4. Use cases

  1. Video tutorials-Done by another team. Let Jessica know if video tutorial is needed.

    1. Embedded on page or link to?

    2. Should there be a video demo per page to illustrate the text?

  2. Pagination and when to create a new page

  3. Screen shot

  4. Bullets are for lists

  5. Numbering is for step by step instructions

Step 5. Global application

  1. Accessibility

  2. Navigation