Rules to Better Websites - Writing Rules

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SSW Rules/Websites/Rules to Better Websites - Writing Rules

 Rules to Better Websites - Writing Rules

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  1. Do you know when to write a rule?

    The purpose of a rule is to effectively establish and record a process to guide employees in their day to day activities.

    Rules facilitate:

    • Consistency
    • Coherent instruction
    • A high standard of documentation
    • Better understanding of processes
    • Efficiency improvements

    Only write a rule after the situation has happened more than once – chances are it will happen again and a rule/standard should be created.

    Read more about Do you know when to write a rule?

  2. Do you use the correct Rule structure?

    Your rule should be structured as follows:

    • Heading as a question
    • Why this rule exists and description
    • Bad example
    • Good example

  3. Do you use presentation templates for your web site layouts?

    Consistency across your similar pages (such as standards pages in this case) is very important and should be made easy to implement.

    Guidelines/standards and rules for the SSW website pages can be found at:

    http://www.ssw.com.au/ssw/standards/Templates/SSWWebTemplate.aspx

    Read more about Do you use presentation templates for your web site layouts?

  4. Do you avoid the first person narrative?

    When writing for an audience, you want to make sure you're consistent in your way of addressing them. For standards and rules, it's best to explain what they should do from an objective standpoint.
    If you want to use an example from your company to explain how something is done, you should avoid speaking from the 1st person (i.e. I or we)
    Bad Example: I often see pages have 2 or 3 links to the same page
     Good Example: Pages sometimes have 2 or 3 links to the same page
     Bad Example: At SSW, we use CRM to track sales activities Good Example: SSW uses CRM to track sales activities
    Read more about Do you avoid the first person narrative?

  5. Do you phrase the heading as a question?

    By forming the heading as a question you are encouraging the reader to answer with a simple yes or no. When the answer is no, it is clear that the rule has been broken and will need to be corrected.

    Phrase the heading as a question. 
    Bad example – the heading isn’t a question.
     Do you consider phrasing the heading as a question?

    Good example – the heading is phrased as a question.
    Read more about Do you phrase the heading as a question?

  6. Do you give implementation examples where appropriate?

    By giving examples you are demonstrating clearly to the reader how he/she can to implement the rule correctly. It is better to position an example of the best possible scenario last so that the reader is left with a clear example in his/her mind as to what is required.

    See Do you show examples, a "bad example", then a "good example"? for more information.

  7. Do you label your example with a tick/cross followed by the word Figure:?

    Always use a green tick for a good example and red cross for a bad example followed with a label “Figure:”?

    Bad example - background colour is manually added to <tablegt; tag
    Bad example – example isn’t labelled with the X symbol followed by ‘Figure:’ 
    Figure: Bad example - background colour is manually added to <tablegt; tag
    Figure: Good example – It is clear that this example is incorrect.
     
    Figure: Good example - background colour is automatically added to <tablegt; tag
    Figure: Good example – It is clear that this example is correct.
    Read more about Do you label your example with a tick/cross followed by the word Figure:?

  8. Do you have a nice small example?

    Your good and bad examples should be concise and to the point.

    Keep it simple, stupid :)

  9. Do you always get your rules proof read?

    It is important to have high quality text to communicate your message. If your grammar, spelling and expression are poor, the reader may be left confused and have the sense that you really aren’t writing thoughtfully and with authority on the subject.


    Always get a rule proof read and edited by a good English speaker who can assess whether or not your rule communicates its message and conforms to company standards, and who can find any errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation.
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