This article presents a study investigating how people deal with procedural documents when using a new domestic appliance. An observational study was carried out in a quasi-experimental setting in order to outline the behavior of users encountering and using an appliance for the first time. The purpose of this observation was to identify two kinds of factors: on the one hand, factors inciting the use of procedural documents accompanying appliances, and on the other hand, design features facilitating the use of these documents when looking for specific information. User behavior and strategies were categorized using two kinds of indicators: 1) the number of times the documents were examined prior to contact with the appliance and/or while carrying out the prescribed tasks; and 2) the total time required to locate information in three different kinds of documents: Text only, Picture only, Text + Picture. Results show that 16 participants out of 30 spontaneously used the procedural documents before starting to use the appliance. However, during the session, 27 participants consulted the documents at least once. This consultation was determined by the task to carry out and the complexity level of the task. Otherwise, results show that time taken to locate information was shortest when instructions were displayed in text-and-picture format.

A comparative evaluation of two user guides—the document traditionally used by a company and a model document designed on the basis of research results and recommendations—was carried out using a number of complementary approaches focusing on the user. The quality and suitability of these documents for the target audience were assessed in terms of content, structure, presence of certain organizational devices (such as headings) and pictures included. The results revealed that the model document was more attractive, more efficient, and better adapted to users' needs, thanks to its modular organization (being structured according to “functions”), a large number of pictures, the presence of headings, and rationalization of the vocabulary used.