Step 1: Begin

Starting in Q1 2023, we have a new Quick Start portal which includes links to all the Day One+ guides and Quick Start guides. Going forward, we are changing the name of Day One+ guides to Quick Start guides. The Quick Start guides use the same XDocs template and content organization as the Day One+ guides. Only the title has changed.

This guide provides everything you need to know to write, edit, and publish a Quick Start guide. This section is organized in the same three-step format as a “real” Quick Start guide to give you a sense of the type of topics to include in each step. For examples of Quick Start guides, see the Quick Start homepage. It’s accessible from the top menu bar in the TechLibrary.

1. Set up the Quick Start guide template in XDocs.

2. Update the Quick Start guide project tracker.

3. Request illustration numbers.

4. Request videos.

5. Write the doc.

6. Create a PDF.

7. Send the guide out for a developmental edit.

8. Send the guide out for review.

9. Prepare the guide for deployment.

10. Send a request to techlibrary-support to deploy the guide.

For Quick Start guides, the idea is to present highly-focused and simplified content in a friendly, conversational tone.

• Include only the bare-bones information needed to get the product up and running, and leave the details to other documents in our expansive TechLibrary.

• If there are multiple ways to install the hardware or configure the software, use the 80/20 rule and write only about the most common way the customer would do it.

• When you’re writing the guide, use the content modernization principles. Try to keep your sentences short and to the point.

• Keep your guide under 20 pages.

Here are some resources that are helpful when writing your Quick Start guide:

• Quick Start Product Setup Video

• Modernization Writing Principles: Quick List

• Quick Start homepage in the Tech Library

• Quick Start (Onboarding) Initiative Site in Sharepoint

• Marketing literature such as product descriptions and datasheets

Quick Start guides are divided into three simple steps. Each step is a topic map with subsections that are unique to the product. Create subsections as you see fit for your product. Here's the type of content to include in each step:

To keep things simple, we don’t use figure and table numbers or figure and table titles in Quick Start guides. The goal is to make the graphics and tables self-explanatory. If they need an explanation, include a brief description in the introductory text before the table or graphic. Use screenshots sparingly to keep the guides short. Click here for more information: Artwork.

Videos are engaging for users and are available in three locations on the Quick Start homepage:

• Learn with Quick Start videos section on the Quick Start homepage

• Watch and Learn section within a product’s Quick Start page

• Learn With Videos section in Step 3: Keep Going

Have a discussion with Dustin Cooper to see if a video might be appropriate for your product. There may be a video already available. Check the Learning Portal.

Click here for more information: PACE Video Production and Services.

Before you start a Quick Start guide, visit the Quick Start (Product Onboarding) page on SharePoint. Here, you'll find various resources, along with a quarterly schedule and the Quick Start Project Tracker. The project tracker is an Excel spreadsheet with tabs for each Quick Start project. You'll need to add a tab for your project that includes the Quick Start guide development milestones.

The development schedules and timelines for Quick Start guides vary, depending upon the complexity of the product. For example, a complex product like Mist will take longer to review and edit than a simple hardware product such as the SRX300.