Have your say and share your ideas. Join us on the road to simplicity. Latest discussions | Popular discussions | Conclusions (see all ) This section is where you'll find completed discussions. You can still browse the whole discussion and read the conclusions, however these are now closed. Open Source Instruction Manuals "Why are instruction manuals static? Why shouldn’t they get better as more people use a product? Why is an open source development model embraced for product creation but not product usage? Instructions should be online and open source. The idea being as more people follow them and refine them, the better they get...making things simpler." Until the day that products become so intuitive that no instruction manual is needed at all, we will continue to need at least some form of instruction on using a products features. Most agree that the approach should be to provide a printed instruction manual packaged with the product while having an internet-based version to serve as a supplement. This supplement, for the most part, would become an open source owner's manual that could then be built upon based on issues raised by the consumer. 7 comment(s) so far JBonnin thinks: The best would be surely to combine both. It is a great idea to have instuctions online, which can get more accurate as users experience the purchased product. But why should it exclude the traditional intructions leaflet? (100% of 16 votes AGREE) idesign thinks: I think JBonnin has it right. Companies should create the initial instruction book while as the product is used in the marketplace, new more clear instruction that the designers maybe did not consider can be made much clearer by individuals who had the same experience previously. Just look at Microsoft's Knowledge Base for it's products. Every time new issues are found, a resolution is created. Odds are someone out there has had the same problem as you. This would be a perfect way to share ideas about products and maybe even influence how they're created in the future. (92% of 13 votes AGREE) More conclusions from this category Public WiFi for everyone Cell Phones in Cars Measures Too much to read Are email & text communication encouraging people to talk less? Wordless Instructions Product Simplicity or Complexity No more keyboards & mouse needed Has the combination of cameras, phones and organisers worked? Start new discussion You know something that puzzled you by being surprisingly simple or overwhelmingly complex? Share it, and get more opinions on it now! Conclusions & insights Business Communication General Internet & technology Lifestyle & social Wellness Search in discussions e.g. search for technology, christmas, future, bioscan This blog About this blog Login Register Help Terms of use