Stories from Clients
They never called
On New Years Eve, a project manager called. His tech writer had left after completing the first draft of a user manual. Could we complete the manual? The manual was for a very high tech, computerized water pump. The draft was 110 pages and written in standard format. In the course of several revisions, we rewrote it in Depict Format™ method, and added several pages of new information. Yet, the final revision was only 69 pages. After 6-8 units had been in the field for awhile, we asked the project manager, "What did your customers think of the pictured format?" He replied, "I don't know; they have never called with questions." 
They just did it
Kim was supervisor of the test department at a high tech firm in Silicon Valley. One week, she traveled to the new company facility in Malaysia. She spent the week training workers in assembly and test procedures. She conducted classes using many manufacturing instructions. Some were in the traditional format--lots of text plus illustrations; others were in the pictured format. Upon returning, she exclaimed, "With those pictured instructions, I didn't have to explain or demonstrate anything! They just read them and did them. I spent all my time helping them learn the tasks that were documented the old fashioned way." If all the instructions had been pictured, her entire trip to Malaysia would have been unnecessary. 
Translation was easy
One company based in Silicon Valley had a small division in Shanghai. They asked us to create several instructions for a product line. The bilingual staff in the USA would then translate them into Chinese. Awhile after the instructions were completed and translated, we asked if there were any problems. The response, "No, translation was easy." |
Complaints dropped to near zero
Eye surgery patients must use several kinds of eye drops. There are two kinds before and three kinds after surgery; they are used for different numbers of days and different number of times per day. One surgeon made instruction sheets that included pictures of the different drops. His assistant went over them with each patient. Still, he received frequent complaints. After using the Depict Format™ sheets for awhile, he wrote, "Your way of combining words and simple drawings makes the procedure very clear. Since I started using it, complaints have all but disappeared. "Since your pictured format requires little explanation, my staff has more personal time with patients. I trust you can use your format to help other healthcare professionals. Your approach could be applied to a wide range of topics." 
They all "got it"
Michelle teaches pre-algebra in a junior high math class. Instead of her usual introduction to negative numbers, she decided to try out the Depict Format™ pictured lesson. She passed out the printed sheets and asked the students to read them to themselves. There were chuckles when they saw the penguin. After several minutes, she called students to the chalk board individually and asked them to do problems involving negative numbers. Afterward, she commented, "Using the traditional approach, about 2/3 of the class would have understood the concept. With the pictured lesson, they all "got it." |
