User Manual Critique

The user manual that I have chosen for this assignment is the PlayStation® 4 User’s Guide. This user manual can be found at http://manuals.playstation.net/document/en/ps4/index.html and contains information and instructions regarding the use of the PlayStation® 4 gaming system. My criteria for judging this user manual will be its layout, organization, audience recognition, accuracy of written instructions, and use of visual aids.

Layout

The layout of a user manual is extremely important. The layout primarily centers on the user manuals content placement, design, sizing, and spacing and is responsible for making the manual visually appealing to the reader.

The PlayStation® 4 User’s Guide is laid out really well. Content such as pictures, headers, and paragraphs are laid out in a manner that is not only visually pleasing to the eyes, but makes the content much easier to read as well. For example, the “limited access for minors” section utilizes a table to provide information on parental controls. This is a much more effective and visually appealing solution than a huge wall of text explaining parental controls.

There aren’t a lot of negatives when it comes to the PlayStation® 4 User’s Guide. One negative aspect of the layout is the lack of indentation. Some sections, such as the “adding friends” section, could be much easier to read if the bullet points were indented.

Overall, the layout of the PlayStation® 4 User’s Guide is great. Despite the lack of indentation in some areas, the content placement, design, sizing, and spacing are all done in a way that makes the guide visually appealing and easy to read.

Organization

Like the layout, the organization of a user manual is also very important. An organized user manual can make a huge difference in the ability to read, follow, and understand a user manual. Without organization, it would be difficult for the reader to find exactly what they need within the user manual.

The organization of the PlayStation® 4 User’s Guide seems to flow really well. Each section flows into the next and covers all relevant information pertaining to that section. For example, the “share” section of the guide covers all information about what sharing is, the different types of things the user can share, and how to view and share these things.

Much like the layout, there aren’t many negatives of the PlayStation® 4 User’s Guide. One negative aspect of the organization of the PlayStation® 4 User’s Guide is there are a few sections, such as “user’s guide” and “data handling/health & safety”, are small and could have been combined. This would save users time when browsing through information regarding these issues.

In a nutshell, The PlayStation® 4 User’s Guide is organized really well. All relevant information is contained in the correct