The following are some suggestions that may help you develop and organize content more effectively and efficiently:
Be consistent in naming modules, sections, topics, questions, and assessments in the outline. If the naming convention is not consistent, it is much more difficult for the user to locate a topic.
If you author content as a team in a multi-user installation of the Developer, or if you link content from multiple outlines, it is a good idea to develop a draft outline before you start creating content. Also, you may want to designate a small number of people to make changes to the outline. This can help avoid confusion about who is working on what content.
Note: If you are using the multi-user version of Developer, you can use the Owner property to assign documents to authors.
Create an overview course with topics that cover the basics of using the target application. This could include logging in, using the interface, general navigation (menus and shortcuts), and using searches to find valid values for data entry. Introducing the user to these techniques allows you to shorten the task topics by assuming a basic level of knowledge for the user.
Avoid using search features when recording most topics. This is most important for accurate steps in Do It! mode. The dialog boxes that open when a user searches for valid data offer many options. If a user chooses a different option than the one indicated by the Player in Do It! mode, the steps do not match and the Player is not able to display the appropriate information.
If you want to include navigation in the topic, use the shortcuts instead of the menu path if possible. This shortens the number of steps, as some menu paths may be quite long.
Create "stem" topics for those tasks that start with the same steps. Then, you can copy and rename the topic, or copy individual frames, and insert the necessary frames to complete the task.
Use only template text in the bubbles as much as possible. As changes are made to the system, the template text is updated more easily than custom text.