For the procedures I’ve been writing, I’ve mostly finished the task information, so I’m going back to add any introductory material that applies to the audience. I met with the program manager, business analyst, interaction designer, and QA lead to see what from their perspectives the audiences of the document should know. They gave me a few good points.

But this led me to thinking that as a concept, the “introduction” is a bit outdated. I don’t think people read them—personally, I think of an introduction as some of that superfluous front matter like a preface, foreword, and so on. It’s information that may affect what I’m doing, but it’s not essential. Even if we’re talking about a help system, I don’t stop my hunt for specific content to read an introduction. At the same time, I’m guilty of writing them.

I think that if introductory material is important, it should at least be labeled in terms that make it clearer what’s in it. For example:

  • Before You Start
  • How to Start
  • [Product] Goals and Purposes
  • Getting Familiar with the Application

Just some random ideas, but I expect you can imagine what would be in a section with one of those labels more than you would with just “Introduction.” Even overview is better, but just a little. Better to say what it’s an overview of.

I haven’t decided yet what to call my introduction, but I’ll go for something that reflects more specifically the information it contains. I’m not afraid of a little wordsmithing. I’ll just go get my hammer and beat on those words awhile.

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