ASUS X51V Live Update User’s Guide Critique
Samuel Adams
ENG/221
Jack Bean
2/20/2012

“A manual provides instruction and other information necessary to accomplish something—that is, to solve a problem” (2010). From savvy businessmen to home mechanics, a properly created manual can make the difference between success and failure. User manuals are found with every device we use today and many do their intended job professionally: Solve problems. The online user manual for the ASUS X51V motherboard provides the reader with instructions on how to update the BIOS and Drivers through a program called ASUS Live Update. The manual consists of a numbered list accompanied by an image for each number. While ASUS does succeed in solving the problem provided, the quality of the guide lacking and barely does the job of catering to the reader.
Considering the Reader
The ASUS Live Update guide was published in 2010, a year after the release of Windows 7, but utilizes Windows XP for their example. While it may unnecessary to include older versions of windows, due to compatibility issues, the reader could be confused by the images if they are using a user interface from Windows Vista or Windows 7. The method for opening the file displayed on the image may be very similar across the Operating Systems but not every user will find this as obvious. In this sense, the images are hindering the user more than they are helping the reader.
The author also seems to assume that the reader has knowledge of everything within the manual and feels no need to describe just what the BIOS or Drivers are. A low-end user who may just be experimenting or has been told that they should look into these may be entirely lost on the subject. Unfortunately, ASUS is not there to hold the reader’s hand or explain anything to them, only to usher them on so it can get back to work.
Format and Design
Images can be a very helpful addition to any user manual, when implemented properly. ASUS does a good job of providing a useful image for the majority of the steps, but the images are of poor quality or too small for the page they are fitting on. If the user would like to print the manual out, some words in the image would be lost or difficult to see as a result of the compressed image size. Yet another problem presented by the placement of these images is a lack of uniform spacing or display of the images. There is absolutely no space taken between the images and the text to attempt to make the guide look cleaner, so the entire work comes out as a cluttered mess. ASUS does successfully put important steps in bold and organize the guide properly through chapters and subchapters, but the execution still feels lacking and the bold text barely catches the eye.
The guide also has an inconstancy in how it displays folders to open. In the introduction, it states that the program is located in “Start -> All Programs -> ASUS Utility,” while in the first step of the guide it instructs the reader to “Click Start \ All Programs \ ASUS Utility \ ASUS Live Update \ ASUS Live Update.” This inconsistency can also cause confusion and makes the guide seem less professional.
Front Matter, Body, and End Matter
The ASUS Live Update manual does successfully provide the reader with a structured table of contents, an introduction, and a body, but lacks any closure. The document ends abruptly by explaining to the user how to check update history and provides no closure or contact for the user in the case the manual did not successfully assist them. The lack of even a ‘thank you’ note to conclude the document makes it seem as if some of the data was lost as it makes absolutely no sense to properly introduce the reader and then suddenly leave them hanging at the end of the manual.

Conclusion
The user seems to be hardly considered in this manual, as if the one creating it threw down a piece of paper and said, “Here is how it works, now get to it,” then walked off to concern themselves with more important matters. While an experienced user could easily make sense of the guide, a user that has been told that they should update their drivers and BIOs may have no real idea what they are doing and may just be left with even more questions. ASUS does the bare minimum in this manual, and solves the problem as quickly as possible. Their format and design is rather painful to look at and they do provide a proper up-front image and body, but the guide has no conclusions at all.

Resources
Dobrin I. S., Keller J. C., Weisser R. C. (2010) Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. Pearson Education.
ASUS Live Update User’s Guide. (2010) Retrieved from http://safemanuals.com/user-guide-instructions-owner-manual/ASUS/X51V-_E