Documentation project, Bedbug extermination user manual Documentation project plan, style guide, and editing checklist

(supporting documentation for the user manual)

I developed the supporting documentation for Bedbug extermination: A guide to best practices for detecting and eliminating bedbugs in your home to ensure that the manual was comprehensive, well-organized, consistent, and completed on schedule. The supporting documentation consists of:

a documentation project plan, a style guide, and an editing checklist.

© Tara St-Laurent, 2016

Bedbug Extermination Documentation Project Plan Revision History

Revision Date Reason February 8, 2016 Original February 16, 2016 Draft of contents has been updated to reflect a slight change in scope of the project

(Focus is now on identifying and eliminating bedbugs through the use of an exterminator. Do-it-yourself techniques and preventing bedbugs are now secondary).

Project overview Purpose The purpose of the Bedbug Extermination documentation project is to develop a user’s manual with information and procedures for exterminating bedbugs in the home. The manual has the following objectives:

• To enable users to detect, eliminate, and prevent the spreading of bedbugs.• To enable users to feel calm and in control when managing a bedbug problem.

Audience Home owners who are concerned that they might have bedbugs in the home or who knowingly have bedbugs. Audience members are members of the general public and could have a range of demographic characteristics. They may or may not have any prior knowledge or experience dealing with bedbugs.

Product The product is a user manual that will be distributed electronically. The manual details a process and does not relate to a specific product. Information and procedures involving various products used for exterminating bedbugs will be presented, but none of these products are the focus of the manual.

Audience and task analysis Assumptions and users It is assumed that users are English speaking adults without disabilities. Primary users are home owners living in stand-alone houses. Secondary users are tenants and landlords of houses or small apartment buildings.

Audience profile: Characteristics English speaking adult, member of the general public.

Knowledge/Skills Some users will be uninformed. Other users will have extensive but potentially conflicting information due to internet searches and anecdotal information that may or may not be correct.

Purpose To eliminate all bedbugs (in the home and on belongings).

Situation/Context The manual will be used in highly stressful situations. Users will often be distressed, emotional, and unorganized when using the manual.

Users may have the urge to “fix the problem” right away, leading to impulsive and possibly poor decisions.

Tasks will be performed in the home or in the apartment building.

Users will refer to the manual before performing a task (for problem solving purposes- to decide which task to perform), during a task, and after completing a task (to confirm task was completed correctly and to determine next steps).

User profile of a primary user: Laura Vernon Characteristics 35 year old Caucasian female, university educated, employed full-time, owns a house with her

husband Ed. Laura is the primary caretaker for cleaning and domestic chores within the home. Knowledge/skills She does not have personal experience dealing with bedbugs, but has heard “horror stories” of

major infestations, of spreading of bedbugs throughout the home, and of friends having to move due to inability to exterminate bedbugs. Laura has average-good problem solving and organizational skills.

Purpose Laura suspects that she has bedbugs. She would like to find out if she really does, and if so, to exterminate them completely, as quickly as possible. Laura will refer to the manual to decide what steps to take for managing her suspected bedbug problem.

Situation, Context, and Challenges

Over the past few weeks, Laura and her husband have been getting itchy bites on their ankles, arms, and legs. It’s winter, so she knows the bites can’t be from mosquitos. About a month ago, Laura and her husband vacationed in New York city. She fears that they may have picked up bed bugs from the hotel. Laura is upset and emotional. She normally has good judgement, but she is questioning her own judgement on the matter (She hasn’t actually seen any bugs, is she being paranoid? If she does have them, could they be all over her clothes and furniture, or are they probably just on the bed? Should she throw out her bed? Will she spread it to her co-workers? ) Laura is experiencing information overload (she is getting anecdotal information from friends and information from internet searches that have different and sometimes conflicting information). She needs information she can trust.

Task Analysis The main tasks users will perform are listed below:

• Confirm presence of bedbugs: o perform a visual inspection of body and home o confirm presence with professional exterminator

• Notify appropriate individuals of the problem (e.g. partner, roommates, employer) • Decide whether to self-manage the bedbugs or to use a professional exterminator • Avoid performing ineffective tasks and tasks that could exacerbate the bedbug problem (e.g. bug

sprays/bombs, sleeping on the couch, leaving your apartment for several weeks) • Select a professional exterminator/ professional extermination method • Minimize risk of spreading bedbugs (/manage the tasks of daily life while coping with a bedbug situation).

o Safely go on public outings (steps to take before leaving your residence: shower, put on clothes that were dried and sealed, vacuum shoes and purse, etc.)

o Using bed and belongings etc. without allowing the bugs to multiply. • Prevent bedbugs

o Avoid bringing used clothes/ furniture into the home OR, thoroughly inspect it before bringing it into the home, then wash it.

o Ongoing precautions: perform regular visual inspections, tape perimeters of room (if you haven’t already, or keep it taped), and take precautions when using communal laundering areas.

• Perform do-it-yourself bedbug management tasks : o Remove bedbugs from clothing and bedding: dry all clothing and bedding in drying machine and

seal them o Remove bedbugs from mattress, box spring, other furniture, and room (as much as possible):

vacuum mattress, apply silicon dioxide dust, scrub wood furniture vacuum perimeters of rooms and apply clear packing tape (if in a multi-unit building)

o Contain the bedbugs: Move bed and dressers away from the wall, encase mattress and box spring with air tight coverings, put tubs of Vaseline on bed feet

o Attract and trap the bedbugs: make a CO2 trap to catch the bedbugs live.

Draft of contents

Introduction About this manual

Section 1: About Bedbugs Bedbug habits The impact of having bedbugs in your home

Section 2: Detecting bedbugs Performing a visual inspection To inspect your body To inspecting your home

Obtaining a professional inspection To confirm the presence of bedbugs

Section 3: Eliminating bedbugs Implicating appropriate persons

To choose a professional exterminator and professional extermination method To work with a professional exterminator

Minimizing the risk of spreading bedbugs To use your belongings To leave your home To have visitors into your home

Appendix A: Dos and Don’ts

Appendix B: Comparison of extermination methods

Appendix C: Additional resources

Glossary

Index

Assumptions and constraints Assumptions Users are English speakers without disabilities.

The writer will meet deadlines. The editor will be available, meet deadlines, and provide high quality feedback. All necessary subject-matter information is available through online searches (or through contacting professional exterminators). Microsoft Word is an adequate authoring tool.

Constraints Schedule and resources: The time available to spend on the project and the overall quality may be influenced by competing projects. Experience: The writer is relatively new to manual writing and project management. Scope: Information will be geared to house owners even though tenants in large apartment complexes are likely to get bedbugs. Large apartment complexes require different treatment than houses, and it is not feasible to include all treatment methods in the manual given page requirements and schedule).

Work plan Phase/Task Estimated time Planning (Research and Project Plan) + User analysis 10-12 hours Design: Style Guide and Editing Checklist 10-14 hours 1st draft (content, including visuals) 35-45 hours Final draft (revisions, edits, glossary) 15-20 hours Production and final release (prepare index, quality assurance and production activities)

10-12 hours

Schedule Milestone Deadline Project Plan February 8, 2016 Style guide and editing checklist February 22, 2016 1st draft complete and submitted for peer editing March 28, 2016 Receive back edited draft April 1-April 4, 2016 Final release (submit completed manual to instructor) April 14, 2016

Design approach The manual will have a conventional design; it will meet user expectations for use and retrieval of information. The design elements listed in the table below will contribute to the manual’s usability:

Supra-level A table of contents and an index will be included. Page headers and footers (with section name and page number) will be used. Section headings will be used and each major section will start on a new page.

Extra-level Images will be high quality, cropped, and clearly labeled. They will appear immediately below the related text. Use of icons and coloured text (or shading) to indicate tips, notes, and warnings.

Inter-level Headings and levels of headings will be distinct (based on type size and treatment) and will make the hierarchy of information clear. Indented listing devices will be used. Numbers will signal items of sequential lists; bullets will signal items of non-sequential lists or options. White space will be used generously, and information will be chunked. Tables will be used to present comparisons.

Intra-level A legible, serif typeface that is adequately large will be used for body text (12 pt. Calisto MT ). Bold treatment will be used to emphasize key words that relate to user actions. Italic treatment will be used to emphasize key conceptual words and points (and for captions).

Illustration plan • All (or most) images will be retrieved from online sources and copied into the manual. The source of the

image (URL) will be displayed in a caption accompanying each image. • Images might be modified using Paint or Word (in order to highlight key areas or to add labels). • Most images will be photographs. Line drawings might also be used. All images will be high quality.

o Images will be cropped and closely focused (zoomed in) to the relevant information. o Blowup images may be used (i.e. if a larger context is needed). o Labels and other design elements may be used for emphasis and clarity.

Production design Page design 8.5” x 11” page size, portrait orientation, 30-40 pages in total (estimated)

Publication methods

Primary method: PDF, distributed through email Secondary method (if required): Print copy (in a 0.5” 3-ring binder with divider tabs for sections; cover page inserted by hand). Distributed (hypothetically) at community centres, laundromats, tenant groups, apartment building lobbies, and upon request.

Style Guide Bedbug Extermination Manual

This style guide helps you design and write content for the Bedbug Extermination manual in a consistent manner. Part 1: All parts of the manual covers design and style choices that apply to the manual as a whole, and Part 2: Individual parts of the manual covers design and style choices that apply to distinct parts of the manual. For descriptions and examples of style rules, refer to Part 3: Style sheet.

Specifically, the style guide is organized into the following sections:

Part 1: All parts of the manual ................................................................................. 1 Tone and writing style .......................................................................................................... 1 Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................ 1 Spelling .................................................................................................................................. 1 Hyphenation, compounding, and word division ................................................................... 1 Punctuation ........................................................................................................................... 1 Capitalization ........................................................................................................................ 1

Part 2: Individual parts of the manual ..................................................................... 2-3 Table of contents .................................................................................................................. 2 Sections ................................................................................................................................. 2 Conceptual topics ................................................................................................................. 2 Procedural topics .................................................................................................................. 2 Body text ............................................................................................................................... 3 Cross references ................................................................................................................... 3 Tables .................................................................................................................................... 3 Elaborations .......................................................................................................................... 3 Glossary ................................................................................................................................. 3 Index ..................................................................................................................................... 3 Header and footer................................................................................................................. 3

Part 3: Style sheet ................................................................................................... 5-6

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Part 1: All parts of the manual The following style guidelines apply to the manual as a whole.

Tone and writing style: • Use an objective, composed tone that is also reassuring and personalized.

o Use the active voice, second person (“you”), and simple, concise sentences. o Acknowledge the stressfulness of the situation; present facts and procedures to guide

the user and to give the user a sense of control. • Present topic based information that relates to meaningful user actions. • Provide enough background information for the user to understand the reason for procedures.

Present background information in the most simple, clear, concise manner possible (use tables, images, and lists).

• Follow a consistent pattern of format (use parallel terms and structures).

Abbreviations: • Do not abbreviate the names of the manual parts.

Example: Appendix 1, page 12 not App. 1, p. 12 • Use number symbols for numbers 10 and above. • In general, do not use contractions.

Examples: Use will not, do not Exceptions: the contraction “it’s” and the heading “Dos and don’ts” will be used

• Do not use the abbreviation “e.g.” Rather, use the term “for example” or “(Example(s):…)” to introduce examples.

Spelling: Use Canadian spelling for all words (as prescribed by the Canadian Style Guide). Hyphenation, compounding, and word division: Write “bedbug” as a single word. Apostrophes: Do not use apostrophes in the term “dos and don’ts” (as prescribed by the Canadian Style Guide).

Capitalization:

• Capitalize only the first letter of all headings, including when they occur in the body text. If the heading contains a colon, also capitalize the first letter following the colon.

• Do not capitalize the word “page”. Example: See Section 1: Detecting bedbugs, on page 8

• Do not capitalize the word “bedbug” unless it occurs at the start of a sentence or heading. • Capitalization following colons: For headings, capitalize the first letter following the colon. For

vertical lists, capitalize the first letter of each item. For examples, capitalize the first letter following the colon if it forms the natural start of a sentence. For colons within sentences, do not capitalize the first letter following the colon.

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Part 2: Individual parts of the manual Each section below contains guidelines pertaining to specific parts of the Bedbug Extermination manual. See Part 3: Style sheet of this document for more information about specific styles.

Table of Contents: • Arrange entries hierarchically: sections, then conceptual topics, then procedural topics.

Distinguish levels of the hierarchy with type size, treatment, and/or indentation. • Arrange entries (and manual) based on most-likely chronology of user actions. • Use TOC entries that correspond verbatim to headings in the manual: same words, same order,

and same page numbers. Sections:

• The following manual parts are considered to be sections: introduction, sections, appendices, glossary, and index.

• Heading: Format the heading of a section with the Section Headings style. The heading includes the name of the part: Introduction, Section, Appendix, Glossary, or Index.

o If there is more than one part of the same type, include a part number, colon, and specific name (in that order).

o Use a specific, descriptive name. Start task oriented headings with a gerund and use the plural form.

Examples of section headings: Introduction; Section 1: Detecting Bedbugs; Section 2: Eliminating bedbugs; Glossary.

• Body: Format the body of a section with the Body text style. Include information on what the section is about, its purpose, an explanation (why it’s important), and a preview of the conceptual topics included in the section. In the preview, present topics in a bulleted list.

• Include elaborations, cross references to other sections or topics, and references to external sources if they are useful.

Conceptual topics: • Heading: Format the heading of a conceptual topic with the Conceptual topic headings style.

Start the heading with a gerund and use the plural form. • Body: The body of a conceptual topic explains why you need to perform a process, what

information you will need to do the process, what practices are involved in completing the process, and the outcome of the process.

o Body text paragraph style will primarily be used for the body of conceptual topics. o The Tables style, Lists style, and images may sometimes be used

• Include elaborations, cross references to other sections or topics, and references to external sources if they are useful.

Procedural topics: • Procedural topics consist of a heading, overview, procedure lead-in, procedural steps, and

closing statement (in that order). Elaborations will be used where they are needed. • Heading: Format the heading with the L3 headings paragraph style. Start the heading with a

gerund and use the plural form. • Overview: Format the overview with the Body text paragraph style. Include a statement of

purpose as well as any necessary background information. • Procedure lead-in: Format the procedure lead-in with the Procedure introductions paragraph style.

Start the lead-in with an infinitive and end it with a colon. Example: To contain the bedbugs:

• Procedural steps: Format the procedural steps with the Lists multilevel list style. Follow these guidelines for procedural steps:

o Use imperative, active language in the present tense. o Use precise and concise sentences. o Present one action per step and have a maximum of 10-12 steps per procedure. o Place the action at the end of the step. o Only present the outcome of a procedure step if it is necessary to clarify any aspect of

that step (as prescribed by the Algonquin Style Guide). Present the outcome after the user action of the step and within the step (not as a separate step). Present the outcome on a separate line, in italics.

o Use a bullet as a step marker for a single step procedure (do not use the number “1”). o Use an if-statement for an optional step.

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• Closing statement: Format the closing statement with the Body text paragraph style. Include the result of the procedure and logical next steps (cross references to other parts of the manual).

• Include elaborations, cross references to other sections or topics, and references to external sources if they are useful.

Body text: • Format body text using Body text paragraph style. Arrange body text in a single column. • Treatment of body text:

o Use Italic treatment when referencing the names of other parts of the manual. o Use italic treatment to emphasize conceptual terms. Use bold treatment to emphasize

function words and user actions. Example: Do not use store bought insecticides.

• Follow the guidelines in Part 1: All parts of the manual of this document.

Cross references: • Use cross references to guide the user to necessary preliminary information (background

information found in another topic that is needed to understand the current topic) and to guide the user to logical next steps.

• When using cross references, always include the table, figure, or section number as well as the page number. When they occur in a paragraph, cross references will be formatted in Body text paragraph style with italics. Example: “See Appendix 1, on page X” but not “See the appendix on page X.”

Tables: • Format tables using the Tables style. • Introduce tables with a caption in the Table captions style. Use a table number and a descriptive

table title. Restart numbering for each new section.

Elaborations: • Elaborations consist of warnings, notes, and tips. Format elaborations according to Part 3: Style

sheet of this document. • Warnings: Use warnings to alert the reader to potential adverse effects on personal belongings

and to illegal activity. • Notes: Use notes to present extra information about a topic or procedure. • Tips: Use tips to present useful facts, ideas, or alternative methods for performing a procedure. • Placement: Place warnings immediately before the related information in a procedure. Place

notes and tips after related information. The order of notes and tips can vary depending on the most logical order (e.g. importance, relation of note and tip).

• Use elaborations in any topic or section (not just procedures).

Glossary: • Heading: Format the glossary heading with the Section headings paragraph style. The heading is

the name of the part: Glossary. • Term names: Use bold treatment on the name of the term to be defined. Do not capitalize it unless

it’s a proper noun (as prescribed by the Apple Style Guide). Present term names alphabetically. • Definitions: Start a definition with a capital letter and end it with a period. Fragments are

acceptable. Can include examples, context, more than one definition, an abbreviation, synonyms, and cross-references to related terms (as prescribed by the Apple Style Guide).

Index: • Heading: Format the index heading with the Section Headings paragraph style. The heading is

the name of the part: Index. • Entries: Include main entries, subentries (if needed), and a page number. Arrange the index

alphabetically. Use cross references for synonyms. Example: Poo. See Feces.

Header and footer: • Header: Include the section name and section number/letter in the header. • Footer: Include the page number in the footer.

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Part 3: Style sheet The styles described below outline the text and document design choices for the Bedbug Extermination manual.

Section Headings: Gill Sans MT, 36 pt., bold, rgb (10,0,142), left-aligned. Start each section heading on a new page. Example:

Section headings

Conceptual Topic Headings: Gill Sans MT, 26 pt., bold, black, left-aligned. Example:

Conceptual topic headings L3 Headings: Gill Sans MT, 18pt., bold, black, left-aligned. Use this style for each procedural topic heading and any other L3 heading. Example:

L3 headings

Body text: Palatino Linotype, 11 pt., black. Use this style for all body text, table text, and textbox text. Insert an extra vertical space between paragraphs of body text. Example:

BB Body BB Body BB Body BB Body BB Body BB Body BB Body BB Body BB Body BB Body BB Body BB Body BB Body BB Body BB Body BB Body BB Body BB Body

Procedure introductions: Palatino Linotype, 14 pt., rgb (10,0,142), indented. Use this style to introduce each procedure.

Lists: Palatino Linotype, 11 pt., rgb (10,0,142) for numbers and bullets, black for text, indented. Bulleted lists are used with a default bullet style (solid dot for all bulleted lists, except for preview lists ( )). Examples:

Procedure introductions

1. text

2. text

• text

Table captions: Palatino Linotype, 11 pt., italics, rgb (10,0,142).

Tables: Ruling—weight of 3 pt. for outer border and below header row, 1 pt. between body cells, rgb (10,0,142); header row—shading rgb (201,197,255), bold text. Examples:

Table caption

Table header Body-style text is used in tables.

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Text boxes: Border weight of 1 ½ pt., left aligned, formatted with Wrap Text: Top and Bottom, and extend until the right margin. (Warnings rgb (208,7,2); Notes rgb (127,127,127); Tips rgb (255,217,102).) Use text boxes for notes, tips and warnings.

Icons: 1.5 cm x 1.5 cm, formatted with Wrap Text: Square, aligned to the inner top left corner of the text box. Use icons for warnings, notes, and tips. Examples:

References: The note icon was retrieved from softicons.com The tip icon was retrieved from iconarchive.com The warning icon was retrieved from icons.mysitemyway.com

This is the icon and text box that will be used to indicate Notes.

This is the icon and text box that will be used to indicate Tips.

This is the icon and text box that will be used to indicate Warnings.

Editing Checklist Bedbug Extermination Manual

Manual organization and parts Check that manual contains all main parts, in order:

☐ Front matter ☐ TOC ☐ Introduction ☐ Sections 1-3 ☐ Appendices A-D ☐ Glossary ☐ Index

☐ Check for correspondence of all heading names and page numbers between TOC, header and footer, and body of manual.

Design ☐ Review each page for obvious formatting errors. ☐ Check that styles (Part 3 of the Style Guide) are applied to appropriate manual parts consistently. ☐ Check that the TOC contains distinct levels corresponding to section topics, conceptual topics, and

procedural topics. Check for parallel structure and wording between like elements:

☐ All section topics contain a consistently formatted heading, body text, and preview (bulleted list). ☐ All conceptual topics contain a consistently formatted heading and body text. They may also

contain tables, bulleted lists, images, and elaborations. ☐ All procedural topics contain a consistently formatted heading, overview, procedure lead-in,

procedural steps (which can include images), and closing statement (in that order). They may also contain elaborations.

☐ All tables are consistently formatted, referenced in the text, introduced with an italicised caption. ☐ All images are arranged immediately after the related text, are aligned with the related text,

and contain only the necessary information (zooming, consistent labels). ☐ All headers and footers follow a consistent pattern.

☐ Check for consistent vertical spacing and alignment. ☐ Check for widows and bad breaks.

Content ☐ Check that the manual contains all of the topics and procedures that a user would likely need. ☐ Read all body content. ☐ Check for duplicated, unnecessary, or missing material (keep repeated text that enhances usability). ☐ Verify cross references.

Style ☐ Check that the tone is appropriate overall (objective but personal). ☐ Check that the active voice is usually used and that user actions are emphasized. ☐ Check that the second person is used consistently (“you”). ☐ Flag sentences that are too wordy or imprecise. ☐ Check that terms are used consistently (no confusing synonyms). ☐ Check that treatments (italics and boldface) are applied consistently.

Mechanics and punctuation ☐ Check for consistent capitalization: check headings and names of manual parts. (Note Don’ts for Dos

and Don’ts is meant to be capitalized even though it occurs mid-heading. For parallelism with Dos.) ☐ Check for consistent use of numbers (spell out numbers under 10). ☐ Check for consistent abbreviations (always spell-out “example,” no contractions for negatives). ☐ Check that each step of a numbered procedure starts with a capital and ends with a period. ☐ Check that Canadian spelling is always used.

Elaborations ☐ Check that elaborations are formatted according to the style sheet. ☐ Check that content of the elaboration corresponds to the type of elaboration (note, tip, warning). ☐ Check that all elaborative information is in a text box (and not in a body paragraph). ☐ Check that warnings in procedures are placed before the related text.