Technical Writing Guideline & Specification

Introduction

• Defining technical writing
• Identifying:
  • the need for a technical writing product
  • the benefits of using technical writing products
  • the types of technical writing products: what works, what doesn’t
• Understanding the profession

Overview of the Project Phases

• Understanding the technical documentation project phases:
  • the planning phase
  • the writing phase
  • the review/testing phase
  • the finalizing/releasing phase

Getting Started – the Planning Phase

• Defining the objective of the technical writing product
• Assessing the client needs
• Assessing the audience
• Choosing the right deliverable for the environment/end use
• Selecting the authoring tools to develop the technical publication
• Establishing the review and approval cycles with your client
• Determining the work methodology with the team/Subject Matter Experts
• Structuring the documentation for:
  • the Technical Report
  • the Presentation
  • the On-Line Help Guide
  • the User Guide
  • the Tutorial Guide: flat based vs. interactive based on E-Learning
• Reviewing the documentation outline with your client
• Applying the principles to an exercise

Authoring the Content – the Writing Phase

• Determining the appropriate technical writing style
• Understanding the principles of technical writing rules
• Using the organization’s publishing standards
• Researching and analyzing technical information
• Designing the document layout (style sheet and template)
• Using plain language
• Chunking information
• Designing illustrations and graphics
• Applying the principles to an exercise

Reviewing the Product – the Review/Testing Phase

• Performing a peer review
• Testing the product
• Editing the content

Managing Technical Publications – the Finalizing/Releasing Phase

• Controlling versions and saving files
• Finalizing the product
• Approving the product
• Publishing/releasing the product
• Communicating the product release