Sometimes, the expert user (or super user) — someone who has a deep knowledge of an application or device — is left out of the documentation that we produce. A lot of user-generated documentation caters to the expert user, but there’s no reason why we can’t cater to them as well.
This article at UXmatters offers some detailed advice on how to help the expert user. Some of that advice includes:
- To satisfy their curiosity about the application, explain why in addition to what and how.
- Include detailed references and background information.
- Include best practices.
To be honest, the last item in that list is the area in which I’m weakest when writing for expert users. I guess that will have to change …