One of the ways I plan to share information is through project tutorials. There will almost certainly be a written element to all of them, posted here on my blog. I consider consistency to be a critical part of good documentation. Therefore, I want to keep a consistent format to my tutorials. I've decided on a format to start with, which I will explain here. As I receive feedback, this format will evolve. I will keep this post updated with major changes so it will remain an accurate description.
Tutorials will have five primary parts:
- Introduction
- Materials
- The kBits
- The Details
- Wrap-Up
The Introduction will present the project including the reason I pursued it. If the tutorial has been split into multiple posts, the details will be included here as well. When a tutorial is split, I will publish a primary post with overall info as well as the initial parts of the project, followed by as many posts as necessary to cover the entire project. The primary post will include details on the total number of posts to expect, and the order in which to expect them. If for some reason this changes, the primary post will be updated.
The Materials will consist of a list of materials used in the project, including links where possible. Except in rare situations, if I link to a product, it will be the exact product I used. If I do include a link to something I did not use, it will be clearly noted. In the event that the project is split into multiple posts, the primary post will include all materials used, whereas the subsequent posts will include only the materials used for that part of the project.
The kBits will be a bullet list of the distilled instructions. If you're a tutorial skimmer, this section is for you. There will always be further important information in the following section, but you will be able to complete the project relatively well with only the kBits.
The Details will be an indepth writeup of the project build. It will cover everything listed in the kBits, with (sometimes significantly) more detail and information. I will explain everything you need to know to work through the project, including things like what I did, why I chose a specific option, how it worked out for me, and issues I encountered. Any questions that arise from the kBits should be answered here.
The Wrap-Up will be a quick conclusion to the project. In the event of multiple posts, it will include a reference to the next post in the series.
This should give you an idea of what to expect from my project tutorials. If you have any suggestions or feedback, please don't hesitate to reach out.