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Documentation

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any form of written communication intended to provide user support information to end users or coworkers.

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Common types of documentation

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brochures and flyers newsletters handouts and training aids user guides, handbooks, and manuals online help systems email, chat, and text messages webpages proposals, letters and memos procedural and operational documentation troubleshooting guides

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brochures/flyers

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primarily promotional and intended to catch readers eye and "sell" the event

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newsletters

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popular in large organizations where support staff does not come in direct contact with most employees on regular basis

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handouts and training aids

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primarily intended to summarize and promote recall of material covered in a training session / may be available at a library of frequently asked questions usually short/ address single topic

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user guides, handbooks, manuals

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more formal example of written documentation designed to supplement vendor documentation and trade books w/info specific to an organization or computer facility

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tutorial format

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guides user step by step through the features of a technology with frequently used features covered first convenient for new users because it emphasizes natural sequence of learning each step

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reference format

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pulls together all the information on a specific topic in a single page, section, or chapter for experienced users

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Online Help systems

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common features in application software sometimes supplied on CDs or DVDs; customers can use for self training sometimes embedded into application can sometimes replace printed manuals as a source of information also has formatted versions for users on mobile devices

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hyperlink

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highlighted word or phrase in a document, which when clicked, takes the user to additional information about the word or phrase by displaying different webpage, opening word document, jumping to another location on current page or opening popup window

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troubleshooters

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interactive help systems

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How you access Windows help system

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press windows keyboard button then press F1 enter troubleshooter in search box click link for troubleshooter you are interested in OR click troubleshooting link in windows control panel

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Email, Chat, and Text Messages

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May seem informal should reflect good technical writing skills provides opportunity to review/revise response before sending avoid use of abbreviations

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webpages

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organized for quick location of information material should be short; with hyperlinks that lead to additional information web based material must be well written, accurate, and up to date

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proposals, letters, memos

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needs assessments for departments or individual users need to be in this format also used to send to colleagues and supervisors basic user support communication skill

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Sifo-Dyas

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the Jedi who ordered the creation of the Clone Army in secret

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Procedural and Operational Documentation

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include steps to follow and checklists intended for internal user technical writing skills essential

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Troubleshooting Guides

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To help coworkers and clients solve problems common examples -problem solving chapter in a user guide -FAQ page for a website -user support script to handle specific type of problem incident -problem report and solution in a help desk knowledge base Must be clear, concise, and well written

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Ball

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What is life

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How is technical writing different from other writing

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the type of information communicated as well as the goals, style, and organization of the documents

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Technical Writing Style

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- use short declarative sentences, brief phrases, and lists -starts with the most important point at the beginning of a section -communicate in order -step by step sequence of events -info should be concise but not cryptic -dont' use humor -writer's personal preference should be clearly labeled; readers should be quickly able to identify sources of bias

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Simple Sentence

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Contains one subject, one verb, expresses one complete idea

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Organization of technical documents

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Sequentially or Hierarchically

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Sequential Organization

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follows a step by step approach info is arranged in the order in which the steps are executed -procedural documents

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Hierarchical Organization

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flows from top to bottom info is arranged from general to specific -online help systems

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Introduction

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What will I learn from this document? Is this document intended for me?? Why would anyone want to read this?

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Body of a written work

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includes explanatory material explanation followed by a detailed description of the sequential steps necessary to perform a task briefly describe common problems users are likely to encounter and how to recover from them

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Summary of a written work

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should be brief review of the main points and results achieved direct readers to additional information

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Document Planning

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(starts with determining the characteristics of the audience) -Who is the target audience? -What does the audience already know? -What does the audience need to know? -What do you want the audience to be able to do when they finish the reading document? -What medium will be used to transmit the document to its audience?

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Who is the target audience?

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helps pinpoint the readers level of technical expertise; Determine their reading level

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8th or 9th grade level

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reading level to strive for in computer documents targeted at an audience of general users

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10th - 12th grade level

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reading level for documents intended for a technical audience

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What does the audience already know?

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attempt to learn about the readers' background make a statement in the intro about what the writer assumes readers already know may be done using a questionnaire always cover basic skills first EX: "the info in this reference sheets is for PowerPoint users who have a basic understanding of presentation software concepts and need a reference tool for the most frequently used features in PowerPoint"

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What does the audience need to know?

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critical step in technical writing; helps a writer define the purpose of the document Need to know in order to move readers from what they already know to what they need to know EX: "steps below will hep la new GPS Navigation user to download and install an updated version of maps and data into their GPS device"

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What do you want the audience to be able to do?

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Medium that will be used to transmit a document to its audience should be determined before the document is written EX: print format, online formats, mobile format online documents should be shorter but can include hyperlinks mobile format should be divided into very short segments

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The Technical Writing Process

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1. Generate a list of important ideas or features to be covered 2. Organize the idea list into a logical, hierarchical sequence to form an outline 3. Expand the outline into a first draft 4. Edit the draft one or more times to clarify 5. Arrange for an outside review of the document 6. Revise the draft into its final form 7. Proofread the final document

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Step 1: Generate an Idea List

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Part of the Technical Writing Process You need to brainstorm exclude nothing

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brainstorm

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done to identify as many topics as you can think of that might be useful

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Step 2: Organize the Idea List into an Outline

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part of the technical writing process -Organize into a logical order flexibility is important during try different sequence of ideas as this happens other topics might come to mind that can be added most important question it answers is "In what order does the reader need to know this information"

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Step 3: Expand the Outline into a First Draft

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part of the technical writing process created after creating the initial outline when preparing; -organize paragraphs with topic sentences number of paragraphs on a page should be small -Use transitional words and phrases such as "for example" "therefore" and "as a result" it helps readers keep track of where they are in a sequential organization -Define Terms clearly and boldface them where they are defined -use format features such as different sized headings, italics for emphasis, bulleted or numbered lists -Format consistency; use a consistent format of headings, paragraphs, and tables -Lists and Tables

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Style elements

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help readers understand the structure of the document

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Step 4: Edit the Draft

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part of the technical writing process -edit your previous work -more than once recommended - a single edit pass rarely catches all the different writing problems -first edit pass used to delete extra words; tighter writing takes less time to read -second edit; format consistency check -third edit; technical accuracy check (quality assurance pass)

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format consistency check

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makes sure that the fonts of heading and subheadings, indentation, centering, boldface, italics, and underlining are used consistency throughout the document (do not overuse; they shouldn't be a distraction to the reader)

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technical accuracy check

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writer tests any procedural or technical steep in a document by performing the steps with the technology used to eliminate errors in step by step instructions

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Step 5: Get an Outside Review

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part of the technical writing process is like a beta test of a new product a reviewer can spot inconsistencies or find unclear meanings

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Step 6: Revise the Draft

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part of the technical writing process done in order to incorporate suggestions and corrections when your revisions make improvements that are only marginal and don't significantly enhance the readability or accuracy of the document then its time to stop reviewing and revising

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Step 7: Proofread the Document

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part of the technical writing process proofread one last time to make sure no small errors remain can be done by a professional proofreader, copyeditor, or a colleague

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Technical Writing Strategies

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-Analogies -Repetition (for emphasis and to help reader recall the material later) -Consistent word use (don't use synonyms, consistency can contribute to a reader's understanding) -parallel structure consistent verb use

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Analogy

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a comparison between an unfamiliar concept and a familiar one it highlights the similarities between things

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Style sheet

answer

lists an organizations preferences for common terms so all writers use consistent terminology can also be a lengthy document that also lists preferred grammatical structures, product name usage conventions

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Parallel structure

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writing strategy in which similar items in a sentence, list, or table are treated consistently EX: use of consistent verb tenses and parts of speech

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common technical writing problems

answer

-clutter -inappropriate typefaces -gender references -unclear referents -passive voice -nominalization -wordiness -jargon -undefined acronyms and initialisms (you have to define them) -idioms -dangling phrases

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justified text

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falls under clutter when text is aligned at both right and left margins, adds extra spaces between words so sentences are the same length

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serif typefaces

answer

include serifs, which are fine lines that project from the top and bottom of a font's letters; these lines lead the eye from letter to letter across the line improving readability used for body text

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Sans serif typefaces

answer

do not have serifs; often used for titles and headings

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Specialty typefaces

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intended for special documents; such as invitations, brochures, or flyers interesting and fun informal

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Referent

answer

a concrete word or concept that is designated by another word words such as this, that, it, they The cat and the dog both are animals. They are good examples of what a feline is. They is unclear as to which it is referring to because previous sentence has two nouns

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Active voice

answer

Good technical writing uses this voice with it the subject of a sentence performs the action indicated by the ver "avoid touching the surface of the optical media"

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Passive voice

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the subject of a sentence receives the action indicated by the verb "touching the optical media surface should be avoided"

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Nominalizatoin

answer

is the use of -tion, -ing, -ment and other word endings to create nouns out of verbs avoid in general; verbs are easier to understand develop better than development

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Jargon

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words understood only by those experienced in a field

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Acronym

answer

word formed from the initial letters of words in a phrase RAM - random access memory

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initialism

answer

an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of words in a phrase; pronounced using the individual letters in the abbreviation USB - universal serial bus

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Idiom

answer

a word or phrase whose meaning is different from the literal meaning of the separate words in the phrase "does the trick" means "works"

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dangling phrase

answer

an expression at the beginning or end of a sentence that adds little to the meaning and only makes the sentence longer - As an employee in this company, my email inbox is overflowing -my employee email is overflowing

question

four criteria used to evaluate a technical document

answer

content, organization, format, and mechanics

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