Resources: tips, tricks and reflections
Practical articles on technical communication — how to structure, clarify and circulate knowledge.
What Should You Look for in a Technical Writer?
So, you’re ready? You’ve taken a hard look and admitted that your technical documentation could be, well, better? It now seems obvious that asking your tech people to write user guides really is a…
Read the articleNobody’s reading your technical documentation? So make it better!
If you’re one to believe technical documentation goes unread, you may well end up wondering what the point of investing time and money in technical documentation is. But what if that’s actually not the…
Read the articleHaving a hard time retaining customers? Think technical documentation.
Do you put a lot of effort into finding new customers year after year, but don’t always succeed in building a lasting relationship with them? Let’s take a minute to look over some figures…
Read the articleOverhauling a Task Support Tool: Long-lasting Results
So your Big Cleaning is done. A few things have been moved around, reorganized, thrown out or added. Now everyone has to get used to the new tool and make sure the mess doesn’t…
Read the articleOverhauling a Task Support Tool: Flexibility and Communication
It’s finally time to roll up your sleeves and get dirty: let’s overhaul your task support tool! So, what’s first? Sweeping out the navigation, dusting off the content? Or maybe the question shouldn’t be…
Read the articleOverhauling a Task Support Tool: Before You Dig In
Overhauling a task support tool may seem like a huge task. And in many cases, it is! How can you maximize your chances before heading off into the unknown? By properly preparing, of course!…
Read the articleThe Topic-based Method: Giving Good Directions
As any travel writer knows, readers must be lead to the right destination with suggested itineraries to help them make the most of their trip. The same principle applies to technical writers using the…
Read the articleThe Topic-based Method: A Guide in the Right Direction
In the topic-based method, every topic meets a goal and so generally corresponds to just one type of information. In our last article, The Topic-based Method, we compared documentation to a chain of islands,…
Read the articleThe Topic-based Method
In technical documentation, everyone knows the topic-based method is a must. But what is it exactly? In the topic-based method, every topic stands alone Every topic should be independent. This means that when you’re…
Read the articleThe Right Format for Your Technical Documentation
Are you thinking it’s time to put your technical documentation into a new format? In this article, we’ll go into the details of the formats most commonly used in technical documentation to help you…
Read the articleIdentifying and Writing for Your Users’ Goals
Goal-oriented documentation is effective documentation. In this article, we’ll look at how to identify your users’ goals and create content that meets them. Go ahead: ask them! The first step in identifying what your…
Read the articleIdentify Your Audience
Before you start writing, even before you think about content, format and technical details, you must first identify your audience. Your typical users While you can’t imagine every reader who may eventually pick up…
Read the articleA question about your documentation?
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