Subscribe to the Journals As noted in a previous post, people can come to trust sources of information through the source’s consistency. In my mind, consistency suggests regularity and dependability or reliability.
Consistency of Content
I’ve had my doubts about single sourcing, but one of the clear advantages is not having to find all instances of a certain bit of content and make sure each one is updated the same way if something changes. This is one of the things that users notice quickly and that turn them off fastest: wrong and contradictory information. (My last post discussed in part how accuracy engenders trust.)
This also points to the importance of checking facts. It can be tempting to just be pretty sure that something is correct, especially if time is pressing. But what if it’s not correct? What if it ends up contradicting something else? Then I’ve failed.
Consistency and Structure
Of course, when we start talking consistency, we often think of our documents’ formatting. Consistency is important from the serial comma all the way up to the arrangement of information. If I were Sarah O’Keefe, this is where I would put in a plug for structured authoring. Even if you haven’t implemented a strict structure for your documents or aren’t authoring in XML, it’s beneficial to decide on regular sections or parts of a topic and then stick to that pattern.
A structure or pattern gives the audience a framework to work with. I had a reading theory class in college where the professor talked about schemas—frameworks in our minds that we use to organize our knowledge, experiences, and perceptions of the world. The faster we can help users put together a schema regarding user assistance content, and the less we violate that schema, the more comfortable they’ll be with it.
Agility and Consistency
One of the benefits of the Agile methodology is regular releases of software. If you’re like me and your documentation is rolled up into the software build, then it’s included in those regular releases. If the users are aware of the regular releases, they can expect up-to-date documentation along with it. This presents a challenge for most lone writers or doc teams, and we lose the users’ trust if we don’t keep up.
However, I would like to get to a point where I can update documentation whenever needed. I don’t mind going through a quality assurance and/or review process—in fact, I recommend them—but I could stand being able to update the materials more often. I think this would help me be more consistent and gain more trust.
Consistent Style
Lest I give style and formatting short shrift, they have their place. Users start to notice after a while (some notice right away) if things don’t look consistent or usage is irregular, especially if those inconsistencies cause confusion about hierarchy of or emphasis on information. They also notice misspellings and other problems, which suggest the work of less than a professional. And the Stanford study I’ve cited indicates users lose trust when they encounter amateurism.
A style guide is important for these reasons. I’m personally guilty of pausing briefly to wonder if something I’ve done is according to the style guide, but since most things are, sometimes I let it go. But I’ve done better since our team became responsible for reviewing and improving our department’s communications. A style guide is only as good as the degree to which we learn it and use it.
A consistent style of graphics also adds to the professional appearance. If you’re creating diagrams and using color, choose from a certain set of colors. If you use rounded corners and gradients, then go for it, but use them consistently.
Wrap-Up
Inconsistency can sneak its way into all corners of a document. Sometimes even the finest of combs doesn’t expose it. Its not until the project is published and delivered that some of those things come out of their holes and do a big, waving dance. But identifying as many ways as possible to be consistent from the beginning of the project will head off some problems in the long run, making the final deliverable more professional and more trusted by the audience.
Previous: Transparency and Authenticity Lead to Trust in Information Sources
Related entries (auto-generated):
Transparency and Authenticity Lead to Trust in Information Sources
Keys to Being a Trusted Source of Information
Usability and Maintainability: Understandable Information
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