In this ongoing series, I’m posting examples of instructional design and related processes from around the web (or beyond).

Some time ago, I reconnected with an old friend via Facebook. Of all of the very smart, geeky, computer-loving people I went to school with, his mind was probably the most engineer-like. When he found out what I do for a living, he expressed some negative opinions about how most elearning is designed and built. He said elearning designers could take some lessons from how Google does instruction.

Google has a reputation for being an engineer’s engineering company, so it’s hardly a surprise that their design appeals to my friend. I find Google’s style very instructive for designing for engineers, but I also think it’s just a good all-around lesson in performance support. Here’s an example:

Over the last few years I’ve set up Google Apps for several organizations. Google takes new admins through a setup wizard, and while I’m not ordinarily a fan of “wizards”, they’re much more helpful than traditional elearning when you’re doing something you do rarely or will only do once.

Over time, the setup wizard has gotten prettier and has added niceties like instructional videos, but it has kept what I like in the basic documentation:

• Instructions are clear and to the point.
• When a link to another help file is appropriate, it’s there.
• It’s interactive, but not so that you stay “engaged”. The interactivity is designed to give you only the information you need, only when you need it.

I’ve taken a few screen shots to illustrate this last point. Click any image to see it full-sized.

Progress through the wizard is clearly marked; it even remembers your place if you close your browser and come back later. If you skip an essential step, it gives you a clear warning.

When there are multiple options in the process, it lets you decide which set of instructions to see rather than presenting them all. This makes the process feel simpler and faster.

When there is more than one way to complete a process, the alternate instructions are hidden, but clearly accessible.

What do you think about Google Apps’ performance support? Who else does this well?