The first suggestion is to borrow from any existing content you have, if any. You may have to trim things out or rephrase text to make it fit, but that will still be quicker than writing and editing from scratch.

Second, keep your eyes open for layouts that you like. Use the design principles from those layouts. With a tight schedule, you may have to go with a simple layout and color scheme (if not just black/white or grayscale). If you want color, use colors from the product you’re documenting so you don’t have to come up with things yourself. (I think that’s good practice anyway so that it looks like the guide goes with the product.)

I think the bottom line is to ask yourself, “If this is a quick-start guide, what does the user need in order to get started?” and work from there. Add the “nice-to-knows” if there is space and time.

Good luck!

Any suggestions for learning this craft/art under pressure?

“I’m sorry this letter is so long, but I did not have time to make it shorter.”

I have a client who wants something short, and as simple as possible. Here’s the doc set: Quick Start guide, reference manual, and administration guide–all as short as possible.

I can’t tell yet if he means he doesn’t want to pay for the time required or if he just doesn’t realize how much time it takes to make writing concise.

Guess I’ll find out if he balks at the first invoice(!)