Watch for assumptions that leave out steps
One of the things that makes it hard for readers is where an
expert in the software skips a step, or leaves it ambiguous
(perhaps forgetting other people may not make that leap).
It's rather like giving street directions to a person who has never
visited a location - once someone has made the trip, they need
only prompts. But the first time, the instructions need to be very
explicit, leave no room for misinterpretation, and include every
cognitive and action step.
The other thing that really makes it hard for a new user (and
camera user-manuals are notorously bad at this) is to assume
that the user has read and memorized every preceding chapter.
In reality, camera (and other technology) users tend to jump in
at the place that meets their immediate task requirement.
I know it saves space in the user manual, but if users then have
to flip back and forth between several chapter to assemble a
logical and complete instruction, it drives them nuts.
There should be allowance for redundancy in the information
provided. Include the same information in several instructional
flows if required. Imaging that the user is reading that particular
step in total isolation of the other steps (which is close to how
many users do anyway).
And it is better to organize the information in priority of most
frequently used functions that allow the user to gain a grasp of
the interface structure and get going.
There is a real art in taking a person through a process for the
first time.
