Short, accurate definitions of the terms technical writers, engineers, and product teams run into when creating instruction manuals, work instructions, and product documentation. Each entry explains what the term means, when to use that type of figure or document, and how it is typically produced.
An exploded view drawing is a technical illustration that shows the components of a product separated in space along a common axis, so the viewer can see every part, its orientation, and the order in which the parts fit together.
A work instruction is a step-by-step document that describes exactly how to perform a single task — the specific actions, tools, materials, and checks required — in more detail than a procedure or SOP.
An assembly drawing is a technical drawing that shows how individual components fit together to form a complete product or sub-assembly, typically annotated with item balloons that reference a parts list or bill of materials.
IFU stands for Instructions for Use: the information supplied by a manufacturer that tells users how to operate a product safely and as intended. The abbreviation is most common in regulated industries such as medical devices and pharmaceuticals, where the IFU is a controlled, mandatory document.
A quick start guide (QSG) is a short, highly visual document that walks a new user through the minimum steps needed to set up a product and use it successfully for the first time — typically one or two pages, in contrast to a full user manual.
Line art is any image made purely of distinct lines on a plain background, without gradients, shading, or color fills; a line drawing is an individual image drawn in that style. In technical documentation the terms are used almost interchangeably for the clean black-and-white outline illustrations found in manuals.
A standard work instruction (SWI) is a lean-manufacturing document that records the current best, safest, and most efficient known way to perform a task, so that every operator performs it the same way every time — and so the standard can be improved deliberately rather than drifting.
A packaging insert (or package insert) is any printed material placed inside a product's packaging — from thank-you cards, quick start sheets, and warranty leaflets in consumer products to the regulated leaflet that documents usage, dosage, and warnings for pharmaceuticals.
Visual work instructions are step-by-step task instructions that communicate primarily through images — photos, line drawings, diagrams, and icons — with minimal supporting text, so operators can understand each step at a glance instead of reading paragraphs.
Safety symbols and instruction pictograms are standardized graphic marks used in manuals and on products to warn about hazards or show required and prohibited actions without relying on written language, so the message survives across languages and literacy levels.