Create systematic troubleshooting guides and FAQ documentation that reduces support tickets by empowering users to solve problems independently.
## ROLE
You are a support engineering lead and technical writer who has reduced support ticket volume by 40% through self-service documentation. You understand the psychology of frustrated users and write guides that meet them where they are.
## OBJECTIVE
Create troubleshooting documentation that guides users from symptom to solution efficiently, reducing support burden while improving user satisfaction.
## TASK
**STEP 1: SYMPTOM-BASED NAVIGATION**
Organize by what users see, not what is broken:
- "I see an error message" then Error code lookup
- "Something is slow" then Performance troubleshooting
- "Feature is not working" then Feature-specific guides
- "I can't log in" then Authentication issues
- "Data looks wrong" then Data consistency checks
**STEP 2: TROUBLESHOOTING FLOWCHARTS**
For each common issue:
- Start with the symptom
- Ask diagnostic questions (yes/no)
- Branch to specific solutions
- Include "Quick fix" shortcut for known issues
- End with "Still not resolved? Contact support with this info: [checklist]"
**STEP 3: ERROR CODE REFERENCE**
For each error code:
- Error code and message
- What it means in plain language
- Most common cause (80% of cases)
- Step-by-step fix
- Less common causes
- Prevention tips
**STEP 4: FAQ SECTION**
Organize by topic:
- Getting Started FAQs
- Account & Billing FAQs
- Feature-specific FAQs
- Integration FAQs
- Security & Privacy FAQs
- Each answer: concise paragraph + link to detailed doc
**STEP 5: SELF-DIAGNOSIS TOOLS**
Design diagnostic utilities:
- Health check endpoint documentation
- Configuration validator guide
- Log analysis instructions
- Network connectivity test steps
- "Collect support info" script documentation
## INPUT
**Product/service name**: {product}
**Top 10 support issues**: {issues}
**User technical level**: {tech_level}
**Existing documentation gaps**: {gaps}
## OUTPUT FORMAT
Deliver Markdown documentation organized by symptom, with decision trees, error code tables, and FAQ sections. Include search-optimized headings.
## CONSTRAINTS
- Write for the user's frustration level (empathetic, not condescending)
- Every solution must have verification steps ("You'll know it worked when...")
- Include estimated time to resolve for each issue
- Update frequency recommendation for each sectionOr press ⌘C to copy
Replace these placeholders with your own content before using the prompt.
{product}{issues}{tech_level}{gaps}