Why Video Doesn’t Work for Instructions
Video: Great Medium, Wrong Application. Users often want to use videos for instructions. It makes sense. Video seems like it would be a fantastic medium for instructional design. Videos are highly visual and they allow an expert to explain all the aspects and nuances of…
Digitalization and Smart Factories: Manufacturing Trends for 2019
Change is in the air. 2018 was an incredible year for innovation in the manufacturing industry. Countless new manufacturing trends have revolutionized the factory floor. Smarter, faster, and more efficient processes mean that work can be done at an unprecedented rate. In 2019, digitalization will…
The Role of Instructions in Digital Transformation & IIoT.
What does the Shop Floor of the Future look like? The term “Industrial Internet of Things” (IIoT) is used to describe the technologies that enhance manufacturing and industrial processes with the help of machine learning and big data to analyze sensor data and machine-to-machine (M2M)…
What to Consider When Looking for Instructional Software
Today’s fast-changing world sets an unstable environment for organizations to operate in. Therefore, organizations need to continuously adapt to external factors while keeping a focus on organizational goals through clear organizational processes. Being mindful of this, more and more organizations are investing in continuous…
5 Tips for Turning Tribal Knowledge into Digital Work Instructions
We visited IMTS 2018 in Chicago to explore how manufacturing trends impact work instructions. Smart Manufacturing and Industry 4.0 had eminent roles at IMTS 2018 in Chicago. Based on what we saw at the event, these are the main traits of the “Shop Floor of…
CES Unveiled Amsterdam Impressions
Last week, SwipeGuide exhibited at CES Unveiled Amsterdam. Amongst the buzz and excitement during the buildup, we had an opportunity to talk to some of the other exhibitors and to capture some impressions before and during the event. CES Unveiled Amsterdam hosts an expected 50…
Make Better Manuals by the Day
Writing effective instructions can be tricky. What should I focus on? Which words should I use? How to make a manual that is appealing? How should I formulate my sentences in order to create an instruction that is as user-friendly and clear as possible?…
Instruction Manual Template: Instructional Design Canvas
Structure is one of the most important elements when you are writing a user manual. Without a clear structure, it is hard to see where something ends and where new parts begin. It is like reading a book that consists of several parts: the introduction,…
Manual Makeover: IKEA Kallax
IKEA is one of our dream cases when it comes to instruction manuals. Many times we were frustrated when assembling their beautiful furniture with the rather abstract paper manual. For our new office, we bought some Kallax shelving units and gave ourselves a little challenge:…
SwipeGuide at IFA Next 2018.
We will be at IFA Next in Berlin, August 31st to September 5th, 2018 and would love to meet you there to discuss the important (but often forgotten) role of instructions in digital transformation. SwipeGuide is presenting a home security project together with Somfy Northern…
Instruction Manual Example: “The Good, The Bad & the Ugly”
When we talk about instruction manuals it is all about usability. According to ISO, usability refers to the effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction with which the users manage to achieve the specified goals in the given environment. In both the case of an instruction manual for…
Manual Makeover: CADAC Carri Chef 2
Summer holidays are here! As we want to go camping this year we decided to buy a CADAC Carri Chef 2 – a great appliance for cooking and grilling whilst camping. After getting all parts out of the box we needed some guidance in setting…
SwipeGuide Editor CMS Design Update
Don’t be shocked next time you log in to your SwipeGuide account – things will look a bit different. We’re gradually improving the navigation and overall UX in the SwipeGuide Editor CMS to make it even easier to create visual step-by-step instructions. Overall design changes that…
How to Create a User Manual: Best Practices Unveiled
Unclear user manuals are extremely frustrating for both companies and end-users. Way too often, traditional paper user manuals are: 👎🏻Text-heavy 👎🏻Difficult to understand 👎🏻Too technical 👎🏻Not at hand when needed 👎🏻Difficult to edit and impossible to track 👎🏻Not focusing on the problems you want…
Testing Wearables in Work Instructions
The SwipeGuide team is confident that wearables are an inevitable evolution in the field of work instructions. We wanted to test this assumption in a real production environment and chose to work with the operators at a brewery in Belgium. These are the findings from…
SwipeGuide UI/UX Design Update
Great news! Our developers have been working hard to update the UX/UI design of the SwipeGuide web-app for end users. Last night it went live and we are so proud of the end-results. This update is more user-friendly and provides even clearer instructions for your end…
How can a product manual be fun? – Nintendo’s Case
Is it possible for someone to have a fun and fulfilling time by just following the instructions of a step-by-step user manual? Yes, it is, and Nintendo proved it. A few time ago the video game company launched “LABO”, a cross cardboard-video game product where you…
The Necessity of Human Workers in Industry 4.0 – Tesla’s Case
As factories get more and more automated, it seems that the human factor in the form of manual labor is less and less necessary. Are we heading to a fully-automated, smart factory where the A.I. will do all the work? Probably yes. Are we there yet?…
Work Instructions in Industry 4.0
Last week the Growth team of SwipeGuide exhibited at Hannover Messe in the Young Tech Enterprises section in the Hall 17 together with hundreds of robots and other startups. Our main goal of exhibiting at the biggest manufacturing fair in the world was to show the…
10 Tips for Better Work Instructions
Where work is done, mistakes are made. Human errors account for 9 out of 10 incidents in the workplace. These errors result in loss of production, damage to equipment, and injuries. This costs industries billions per year and with work getting more and more…
Feature update: Sentiment Measuring
SwipeGuide is constantly evolving and improving in order to give our customers the best possible tool to create effective instructions. Here are our latest improvements! New feature: Sentiment measuring → Improve your instructions based on real feedback from your end-users. This helpful feature enables…
How to Write a Good Instruction Manual
Knowing how to use a product is the key to a successful customer experience. By providing your end-users with clear and to-the-point instructions, you can expect both happier customers and decreased service costs. SwipeGuide is an instruction software that enables companies to create visual and…
SwipeGuide receives equity investment from Newion to accelerate growth
Very impressed with the technological sophistication of the SwipeGuide Instruction Platform and the growth of the company in the past year, Newion Investment and its current seed investor have invested one million euro in SwipeGuide. This investment will help advance the development of the instruction…
SwipeGuide winner of the Young Technology Award 2017
SwipeGuide is the winner of the Young Technology Award 2017 and can take home the winning prize of €5,000. The CEO and proud founder of SwipeGuide, Willemijn Schneyder, won the prize in an exciting finale with her powerful pitch. The Young Technology Awards The…
SwipeGuide wint Young Technology Award 2017
SwipeGuide is de winnaar van de Young Technology Award 2017 en mag de hoofdprijs van €5.000 mee naar huis nemen. De founder Willemijn Schneyder van SwipeGuide sleepte tijdens een spannende finale de prijs in de wacht met haar pitch. De Young Technology Awards De Young…
SwipeGuide’s Brainstorm: AR in Instructions ? (+Video)
Brainstorm: AR in Instructins + Young Technology Awards Two main events took place in Enschede, Netherlands. At first, there were the finals of Young Technology Awards 2017 by Novel-T where SwipeGuide’s CEO Willemijn Schneyder won the first place and took the price of €5.000. You can find more information…
This Is Why Your Manuals Fail to Help Users
Let’s talk about one of life’s greatest frustrations: user manuals. Just imagine you finally buy that coffee machine you’ve had your eye on for months … what comes out of the box? An old-fashioned user manual that is of no help in starting to use…
The Promise of Augmented Reality (AR) in Instructions
Augmented and virtual reality caught the attention of many technology companies last year. At SwipeGuide we have a continued interested in these technologies and the potential of them for instructions. If there is one place to check out the new potential for Augmented Reality it…
7 Tips on How to Create Great Visuals for Instructions
The brain processes visuals 60,000 times faster than text. Actually, around 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual. And did you know that visuals have been found to improve learning by up to 400 percent? Visuals are thus extremely important when…
User Guides as Part of the Customer Experience
Picture Megan. She bought one of your washing machines six months back, but this morning the door won’t open. The user manual is nowhere to be found and Megan wonders if she’ll try calling customer services, but this usually results in a long waiting time…