What do startups and the 1926 inaugural version of the U.S. Highway System have in common?
A fresh roadmap, of course!
Working in a startup, I’ve had the pleasure of building new training programs and content from scratch. While this company already had a well-populated help center, it didn’t have an easy answer to the question, “I’m new to the software…what do I do first?” Today, this quick start guide now serves as an answer.
While it’s short on page length, it’s rich in content and includes:
- Feature Spotlight: video and a companion 11-page PDF highlighting the key features of the software.
- Getting Started Videos: Six videos, 15 minutes to complete. Answers the question, “what is this software?”
- Popular Walkthroughs: Eight videos, 20 minutes to complete. Answers the question, “how is this software used?”
- Additional Resources: Links to the release notes index (content I produced) and a tutorial on how to use the Help Center (also content I produced).
I think it’s always important for new users to understand the what and the how of new software. I’m well aware that learning new software can be a tedious endeavor, so it’s important that learners understand the whole point of why they’re adopting the product rather than just fall face-first into a chasm of unstructured training.
I also want to include this promo video I produced, which serves as a bit of an advertisement for new and prospective customers and works nicely with the quick start document: