Procedural topics provide step-by-step instructions on how to complete a specific process to achieve a desired outcome. These topics should be easy to follow and include all relevant prerequisites, detailed steps, and final goals. This type of documentation is crucial for helping users understand and follow procedures accurately and efficiently.

When creating procedural topics, I prioritize showcasing the most relevant use cases/workflows for the most common personas. By understanding the audience's background, knowledge level, and objectives, I can tailor the language, tone, and complexity of the content. This approach enhances user engagement and ensures that the documentation meets the intended purpose.

The following is an example of a procedural topic that I composed. This topic guides users on how to create a data product request on Data Product Hub. To view the published topic, see Requesting a new data product - IBM Documentation.

Design Thinking Process

  1. Empathize: Research your users’ needs

    • Audience: Data consumers requesting a data product for the first time

    • Research: Consumers want clear and concise instructions on how to submit a data product request. They want to avoid repetition and unnecessary information

  2. Define: State your users’ needs and problems

    • Problem statement: As a new data consumer, I want to submit a request for a new, unique data product that addresses my business needs. Since the request form contains many fields to complete, I need instructions and information on what to include

  3. Ideate: Generate ideas and elements to include

    • Topics to include:

      • Completing a request from a producer's point-of-view

      • Monitoring a submitted request from a producer's point-of-view

        Consumer POV will be prioritized over producer POV as most visiting users will be consumers

    • Elements to include: Ordered lists, Unordered lists, Field/UI names, Images, Link to Data Product Hub site

  4. Prototype: Create solutions

  5. Test: Try out solutions

    • Usability: Reviewed by team lead, developers, and product manager

    • Quality assessment: Reviewed by lead content strategist and IBM’s D&UX team