A tutorial on making tutorials

Want to step inside the Matrix with me? Let's go?meta?and give you a tutorial on making a good tutorial:

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When it comes to application training?The 3 C's?reign supreme:

• ???Clarity:?Clear and concise instruction
• ???Consume-ability:?Short, modular actions
• ???Consistency:?That which is easily repeated, becomes the standard

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*Clarity ??

Ambiguity is the killer of productive instruction. When it comes to application training in software, ask yourself this question:

"Would this make a good tweet?" ??

While?Twitter?might be feel like the deepest pits of hell, the concept of a tweet is actually very useful. Tweets are short?(240 characters or less), they are punchy?(captivate attention),?and they deliver value?(the good ones elicit?emotion/action).

Quality application training is a delicate balancing act between: leaving no room for interpretation while inviting opportunity for building upon the foundation.?

Notice the short, clear instruction on each step. No fluff, no baggage.. just straight forward clicks, types and actions that help the learner understand the process while building the muscle memory:

*Consume-ability ??

"I can't wait to attend this 45 minute product training webinar"?

"Looking forward to this 1 hour session on?MICRO?learning"?????

-No one (ever)

Application training sticks when it is short, easy to consume and hits the learner in their natural flow of work.

The key here is to focus on learner behavior... people do not typically learn best in the long form, lector style anymore. Particularly when it comes to software & process, learners want to get their hands dirty - touch and feel the actions on their own terms.?

Great rule of thumb is to keep tutorials to 25 steps (actions) or less. Focus on ONE process component. If there are multiple systems, or complex workflows, break these into separate tutorials and string them together.?

BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND. Don't just focus on the initial learning consumption. Often, tutorials are referenced many times AFTER their initial introduction. If you break tutorials out into small, short step walk throughs, it makes it is easy to get targeted answer sto a simple question. Don't make learner scroll through dozens of pages/steps for quick refreshers and recaps.

Notice in this tutorial library, we broke out multiple processes into their own unique tutorials instead of 1 lengthy asset:

*Consistency ??

If you want a behavior to be the standard, incentivize for it. Remove all the fluff from your tutorials and make sure the instruction is hyper contextualized so that it supports the natural flow of work for your learners. Those instructions that are easily accessible and logical are what become the standard.?

Build with your learners

If you want a behavior to stick and be done with consistency, elicit feedback from those who are doing the work. The end learners will be happy to give feedback about how and why they did what they do.?

In this tutorial, you will notice a nice blend of the "HOW-TO" of a basic process: "how to manage your email inbox" AND a unique learner insight: how to leverage your inbox like a task management system:

How do you think about tutorial creation?

Want to create quick, interactive tutorials like this yourself? Check out a free trial of iorad here