01 User Manual

User Manual Skill

Use When

• Use when producing role-based, task-oriented operating guidance for an implemented product. Use installation-guide for setup, FAQ for concise recurring answers, and release-notes for version deltas.

Do Not Use When

• Do not use when a more specific upstream or downstream skill owns the task, or when the required project context has not been prepared.
• Do not use this skill to fabricate missing project facts, legal conclusions, test results, approvals, or certification claims.

Required Inputs

Capability and permission boundaries

Default to read-only. Read and search access to the supplied artefacts are required. Editing is limited to an explicitly authorised requested draft or project files. Execute validation only when authorised; publishing, signature, certification, production mutation, destructive action, spending, and risk acceptance require explicit authority.

Degraded Mode

When files, tools, network, rendering, fonts, execution, or evidence are unavailable, return the narrowest useful qualified draft or finding set. Name every unavailable check and its consequence; an unassessed check is never a pass. Preserve evidence already gathered and provide the exact next verification step.

Decision Rules

Workflow

1. Confirm the requested artefact, audience, scope, decision owner, and applicable baseline or version. Work read-only by default; source mutation, publication, signature, certification, production change, or risk acceptance requires explicit authority.
2. Inspect every required input and record missing, stale, conflicting, or inaccessible evidence. Stop claims that depend on an unresolved required input.
3. Apply the Decision Rules, then execute the existing Core Instructions below in order; preserve project terminology and trace each material statement to its source.
4. Test the draft against the output acceptance conditions and domain quality standards. If a check cannot run, mark it not assessed and never convert it into a pass.
5. On failure, recover by preserving completed evidence, identifying the narrowest corrective action and owner, and rerunning only the affected checks before handoff.
6. Produce the named artefact and evidence record; publish, sign, certify, mutate production, or accept risk only under explicit authority.

Outputs

Evidence Produced

Quality Standards

• Keep outputs grounded in source context, traceable to stated standards, and specific enough to review or verify.
• Use deterministic acceptance conditions and preserve traceability from source to decision and output.
• Separate facts, inferences, assumptions, and approvals; never present one as another.
• Apply 28-anti-ai-slop during authoring and 29-ai-slop-audit at major checkpoints and release.

Anti-Patterns

• Producing User Manual from assumptions instead of named project sources. Fix: Cite the source or mark the item unverified.
• Treating a missing or inaccessible check as passed. Fix: Mark it not assessed, state impact, and block dependent claims.
• Using vague gates such as adequate, secure, or user-friendly. Fix: Replace each with an observable criterion, threshold, and evidence source.
• Copying a generic template without product, control, role, version, or jurisdiction detail. Fix: Ground every section in the supplied context and remove unused boilerplate.
• Publishing, signing, certifying, changing production, or accepting risk without authority. Fix: Prepare a draft and route the decision to the accountable owner.
• Listing evidence without provenance or an acceptance result. Fix: Record source, period, integrity check, mapping, and pass/fail/not-assessed status.

Worked Example

Example: if a feature, screen, or answer is not confirmed in the product or approved source, omit or mark it pending verification. Record the evidence and result in the validation record; this avoids documenting nonexistent behaviour.

References

• Generation logic: load when creating the complete artefact.
• Skill notes: consult for local examples and invocation context.
• Repository operating rules: apply the engine's routing, evidence, and release gates.

Overview

This is the first skill in Phase 08 (End-User Documentation). It produces a comprehensive user manual that guides end users through every feature of the software product with step-by-step procedures, screenshot placeholders, navigation overviews, and role-based workflow instructions. The output conforms to ISO 26514 (User Documentation) and serves as the primary reference for end users adopting the system.

When to Use This Skill

• After Phase 02 completes and vision.md and features.md exist in projects/<ProjectName>/_context/.
• When end users require a structured guide to learn and operate the software product.
• Optionally after Phase 05 when user_stories.md exists in projects/<ProjectName>/<phase>/<document>/ for richer workflow context.
• Optionally after Phase 02 when SRS_Draft.md exists in projects/<ProjectName>/<phase>/<document>/ for detailed functional reference.

Quick Reference

Input Files

Output Files

Core Instructions

Follow these eight steps in order. Halt and notify the user if a required input file is missing.

Step 1: Read Context Files

Read vision.md and features.md from projects/<ProjectName>/_context/. Optionally read SRS_Draft.md and user_stories.md from projects/<ProjectName>/<phase>/<document>/. Log the absolute path of each file read. Halt if any required file is missing.

Step 2: Define Getting Started Section

Document the onboarding experience for a first-time user:

• System access procedures (login, registration, initial setup)
• First-run configuration or wizard steps
• Orientation to the primary interface layout
• Quick-start task that demonstrates core value within five minutes

Step 3: Generate Navigation Overview

Produce a navigation map of the application:

• Primary navigation elements (menus, sidebars, toolbars) with screenshot placeholders
• Page-by-page or screen-by-screen summary with purpose description
• Navigation shortcuts and keyboard accelerators if applicable

Step 4: Generate Feature Guides

For each feature in features.md, produce a dedicated section:

• Feature purpose and user benefit (one to two sentences)
• Step-by-step procedure with numbered instructions
• Screenshot placeholders formatted as [Screenshot: Feature Name - Step N] until a verified image file is supplied
• Expected results after each critical step
• Edge cases and limitations the user should be aware of

Step 5: Generate Role-Based Workflows

If user_stories.md is present, define workflows per user role:

• Identify distinct user roles from stories or personas
• Map each role to its permitted features and typical task sequences
• Produce end-to-end workflow walkthroughs for each role
• If no user stories exist, generate workflows based on features.md feature groupings

Step 6: Generate Troubleshooting Section

Document common user-facing issues and resolutions:

• Error message catalog with plain-language explanations and resolution steps
• Frequently encountered obstacles during onboarding
• Performance or display issues with recommended actions
• Escalation path for unresolved issues (support contact, ticket system)

Step 7: Generate Glossary

Compile a glossary of domain-specific and product-specific terms:

• Every acronym and abbreviation used in the manual SHALL be expanded
• Technical terms SHALL include user-friendly definitions
• Terms SHALL be sorted alphabetically

Step 8: Assemble and Write Output

Assemble all sections into the final document with a table of contents. Write the completed document to projects/<ProjectName>/<phase>/<document>/User_Manual.md. Log the total count of feature guides and role-based workflows generated.

Output Format Specification

The generated User_Manual.md SHALL contain these sections in order:

1. Document Header -- Product name, version, date, audience, standards reference
2. Table of Contents -- Auto-navigable section links
3. Getting Started -- First-time user onboarding and quick-start
4. Navigation Overview -- Interface map with screenshot placeholders
5. Feature Guides -- Per-feature step-by-step procedures
6. Role-Based Workflows -- End-to-end task sequences per user role
7. Troubleshooting -- Error catalog and resolution steps
8. Glossary -- Alphabetical term definitions
9. Support & Contact -- Escalation paths and contact information

Final Step: Write manifest.md

After generating all section files, create (or overwrite) manifest.md in this document's directory listing the section files in the correct assembly order:

# Document Manifest — User Manual
# Generated by user-manual. Edit to reorder or exclude sections before building.
01-getting-started.md
02-navigation-overview.md
03-feature-guides.md
04-role-based-workflows.md
05-troubleshooting.md
06-glossary.md
07-support.md

This ensures scripts/build-doc.sh assembles sections in the intended order rather than alphabetical fallback.

Common Pitfalls

• Jargon without definition: Every technical term SHALL appear in the glossary with a user-friendly definition.
• Missing screenshot placeholders: Every multi-step procedure SHALL include at least one screenshot placeholder per critical step.
• Role-agnostic instructions: Workflows SHALL be segmented by user role when multiple roles exist.
• Assumed prior knowledge: The Getting Started section SHALL assume zero familiarity with the product.
• Missing error guidance: Every known error state SHALL have a documented resolution path.

Verification Checklist

1. User_Manual.md exists in projects/<ProjectName>/<phase>/<document>/ with all nine sections populated.
2. Getting Started section assumes zero prior knowledge and includes a quick-start task.
3. Every feature in features.md has a corresponding feature guide section.
4. Screenshot placeholders follow the [Screenshot: Name - Step] format and are replaced only with verified image files.
5. Role-based workflows cover every identified user role.
6. Troubleshooting section includes error messages with resolution steps.
7. Glossary contains every acronym and technical term used in the manual.
8. Table of contents links match actual section headings.

Integration

Standards Compliance

• ISO 26514 -- Systems and Software Engineering -- Requirements for Designers and Developers of User Documentation. Governs structure, completeness, and audience-appropriateness of user-facing documentation.

Resources

• logic.prompt -- Executable prompt containing the step-by-step user manual generation logic.
• README.md -- Quick-start guide for this skill.