Lead with the important details
In technical writing, front-loading refers to leading with the most important information. This ensures that users can find what they need quickly and understand context before they act. Leading with the most important information improves comprehension and helps the reader decide if they should keep reading.
Core models for documentation:
- Inverted Pyramid: This model requires information is presented in descending order of importance with the most critical concepts, statements, and keywords at the top of a topic or paragraph. In journalism, this would include the 5 Ws immediately: who, what, when, where, and why, followed by supporting details, then the wrap-up.
- Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF): This model focuses on placing the conclusion or required action at the top of a communication.
- Context before action: At the sentence level, this model dictates conditions/contexts must be stated before the instruction.
Technical communication research shows...
Research into cognitive psychology and technical communication provides reasons why this ordering is critical:1
- Scanning: Most users do not read documentation cover-to-cover; instead, they scan for relevant actions and keywords, and only stop to read carefully once they find something that matches their goal. Scannable text increases usability by 47%.
- Act-first instinct: People tend to act as soon as they see words describing an action. If the context/caution is placed at the end, users often perform the action before they reach that information.
- Sense-making: When interacting with a new system, users both need to act to understand the program, but also need to understand the program before they can act. Because of this, they'll choose the "first reasonable action" rather than reading all of the instructions first.
- Cognitive load and memory: Working memory is limited in how much information it can process simultaneously. Seeing high-level context first helps users build a mental model (schema) that reduces the mental effort required to process subsequent instruction.
Links
- What is BLUF? How to Use It to Improve Your Writing
- How to Write the Best Articles With Inverted Pyramid Structure
References
1 Dana E. Chisnell, Style Guide for Voting System Documentation, August 2008, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).