Sections and steps

1. Structure of a guided tutorial

Here is an overview of a structured guided tutorial from the user and author’s perspectives.

What end-users see

Guided instructions called hands-on tutorials, show users step-by-step how to create experiences in various Adobe products. 

These in-app tutorials are housed on the Discover panel for PS and PsW and for Express they are housed inside the Express Learn Panel.

WHAT YOU BUILD

Sections, steps, and notes are the building blocks of your tutorial.

• Sections: Tutorials are divided into distinct sections. Each section consists of a numbered list of steps and may contain an image or video as a visual aid. 
  • Think of a section as a topic or user milestone that summarizes what users will accomplish by performing the steps in that section. 
• Steps: The numbered list of actions to complete in a section to advance in the tutorial. 
  • Try to limit each step to one action.
• Notes: Additional information about a particular step.

To learn how to build sections and steps, click Create a tutorial > Tutorials.

2. Creating sections, steps, and notes

All tutorials and templates you create in TBW consist of sections, steps, and notes. Your task is to organize the content effectively, breaking down the tutorial into manageable sections.

Each section contains a series of steps and sometimes notes. Avoid continuing steps from one section to another. All steps are numbered. A note is not numbered, instead it provides supporting information. 

When writing steps make sure you edit for clarity and are concise. We want the steps to be “above the scroll.” Additionally, large blocks of text can fatigue users. Edit to keep users interested, engaged, and following the tutorial.

• Start each step with an action verb that tells users what to do
  • Example: Click the Plus icon to add to the selection.
• Include approximate values in steps
• Include an “about” value for each slider or numerical field you ask the user to change
  • Example: Drag the Clarity slider to about +20 to increase contrast in the midtones.
• Include the “why” in steps
  • The outcome of an instruction
    • Example:  Drag the Opacity slider to about 80 to make the artwork more transparent.
  • Reasons to use a particular workflow or tool
    • Example: Drag out a text box for paragraph text. Paragraph text, which reflows within its box, is useful when you have a lot of text to add.
• Use notes to accommodate some of the “why”
  • Suppose a step doesn’t have room for some critical “why,” consider following the initial step with a note that offers the why without an action indicated by a step. But use notes sparingly, we want to keep the user engaged and clicking through the tutorial.
• Don’t include suggestions for alternative workflows, particularly in beginner tutorials.