Published Technical Guide

Software used:

  • iFixIt

Skills used:

  • Technical-to-nontechnical translation
  • Identifying appropriate steps for a guide
  • Creating appropriate visual aids

This project highlights my ability to:

  • Identify problems that need a solution.
  • Create a technical guide from beginning to end.
  • Revise my work based on new information.

Background

This project asked me to identify a problem that can be fixed in a step-by-step guide. Using the website iFixIt, which hosts guides for a variety of problems, I submitted a proposal for a Fast Fix.

This proposal covered my proposed guide, the repair method, and a justification for why the guide was necessary. The repair I chose was “How to Mend a Snapped Elastic.”

I identified the need for this guide by looking through the existing elastic repair guides on iFixIt. I noticed that none of these guides covered how to mend a piece of elastic back together—instead, most focused on replacing the elastic entirely. I determined that this guide was necessary and that I had the ability to write it.

After the proposal was submitted and accepted by iFixIt, I began planning my guide in more detail.

This project was completed in October 2024.

Planning and Writing the Guide

I began planning for my guide by producing a storyboard-esque guide that covered the repair from beginning to end. In order to ensure that I had covered every step, I did a test repair to make sure that each action lined up with my guide.

Next, I began writing the guide. iFixIt’s style guide asks that users follow a few guidelines when writing:

  • Write in plain language.
  • Identify warnings or tips, and mark them accordingly.
  • Ensure each visual aid matches the written step it is attached to.

With these guidelines in mind, I wrote out the first draft of my guide. This first draft featured all of the steps that would be in my final guide, as well as identified warnings and tips that would be later denoted with an icon by iFixIt. With this first draft complete, I began working on my guide’s visual aids.

Photographing Visual Aids

iFixIt values clear instructions and meaningful visual aids in its accepted guides. With this in mind, I chose to photograph each step of my guide to ensure that the reader has clear instructions in both written and visual form. I used a standard iPhone 15 camera and a tripod to capture my photographs.

Example of a step from the guide.
In this step, I used two different visual aids to show different options for the user.

Once I completed my visual aids, I revised my written draft to confirm that each written step matched with each visual aid. For some steps, this required adding another visual aid or separating the step into two actions.

Final Project

After combining my revised written guide and visual aids on the iFixIt website, I submitted my guide for approval by the iFixIt Fast Fix team.

My guide was accepted by the iFixIt team and can be viewed here.