User Guides as Self-Teaching Aids in the Installation and Operation of Home Appliances

Purpose: This paper investigates the role of user guides of home appliances as self-teaching aids by examining their effectiveness on the overall user experience. Methodology: Unstructured questionnaires were administered to 259 users of home appliances to seek their views on the language technicality and communicative effectiveness of user guides and their role as self-teaching aids. Descriptive analysis of data is presented as percentage bar charts that reflect the research questions. Findings: The study reveals varying user perspectives on the clarity and effectiveness of user guides, particularly regarding the presence and labelling of images, and the impact of technical terminologies. The results show that using technical terms in user guides posed comprehension challenges to some respondents. The results also underscore the importance of user-centric designs, incorporating feedback, and iterative improvements in creating effective user guides. Unique Contribution to Theory, Policy and Practice: The originality of this study is based on the fact that it explores effectiveness of user guides as self-teaching aids, a topic that has not been extensively examined. The study offers a valuable perspective on the language, technicality, and overall effectiveness of the user guides. The emphasis on user-centric design principles emphasises the practical implications of the findings, providing actionable recommendations for manufacturers to enhance their user guides. The paper contributes to the literature by addressing a specific aspect of user experience design in a practical and insightful manner.