The Need - Autonomous Solutions, Inc. (ASI), a vehicle automation robotics company in Petersboro, Utah, creates automation kits for many vehicles. Each of those automation kits require a hardware installation guide of some kind. In this case, the vehicle in question was a skid-steer loader. These installations are very complex and minor errors can cause serious safety problems, so the installation guide must be accurate and clear. More details about ASI products can be found at asirobots.com.
The Solution - I wrote the skid-steer installation guide in Adobe InDesign using a company-branded template I created based on the branding guidelines of the ASI UX designer. I took pictures of each installation step and created line drawings to simplify the visual content in Adobe Illustrator. This allowed me to direct the installer's attention to the points they needed to work with, avoiding any confusion they might have had by simply reading the text. I then performed an actual installation on a vehicle to refine the installation steps and make sure I hadn't left out any tips or warnings needed to successfully complete the process.
The Outcome - ASI has produced many installation guides since the company was formed, but this guide was widely touted by management as the most clear and accurate of them. Because systems like this are so complex, an ASI engineer is usually required to complete the installation. However, with this document, a technician was able to install the kit without any engineer support.