Producing technical documentation - Part 4
By Colin P Dunbar
What is effective technical writing?
Measuring effectiveness in technical writing may be somewhat difficult, especially to the unknowledgeable. It does not necessarily mean that the person who sits at his desk from eight to four, is effective. The effectiveness must be judged on various elements, amongst which are:
- Clear writing
- Appropriate graphics
- Applicable charts
- Suitable binding method
Where the technical writer gets to a point where he has to wait for source material is an area where a writer can be either an asset or a liability to the effective production of the documentation. The effective writer will not sit at his desk doodling, but continue with another part of the document, or if not at all possible, he can review material that he has already written.
The situation mentioned in the previous paragraph can occur often, but can also be avoided with effective planning. The overall planning of the documentation project should accommodate such "quiet times" and attempt to keep production flowing.
The writing function
After planning, the next step in effective production is the actual writing function. And here, depending on the size of the project it is the role of the writer that has the greatest influence on the effectiveness of the production.
Effectiveness of the writer is directly related to time, and consequently to cost. As a result the writer should be ever-conscious of the disciplines which follow in the production cycle. The foundation of a documentation project is the writer's draft, and has an effect on the review, editing and illustrating functions. A well organised and written draft will avoid unnecessary time taken by the review authority and editor. In this regard it is important that the writer work closely to the specification.
The illustrating function
The consideration of the writer for the illustrators is important in having clearly identified the illustrations. It is not a matter of the writer wearing two hats; that of writer and illustrator. But he should have a clear understanding of technical illustrations. Clearly identified illustrations or sketches will enable the illustrators to be more cost-effective, and avoid unnecessary liaison with the writer, which can be a waste or productive time.
Technical illustration has possibly more artistic elements than technical writing. This is especially true for airbrush work, cut-away orthographic illustrations, and some perspective illustrations. These require an artistic talent, although they are depicting technical items.
Although the aforementioned illustrations have a purpose in documentation, a large volume of the graphic/illustration work in documentation today comprises screen captures from software programs.
Measuring productivity
In almost every sphere of industry and commerce, productivity is a prime concern of management. Technical documentation is no different. Albeit, determining productivity in documentation is not quite the same as in a manufacturing environment. It is not necessarily the number of pages written or the number of illustrations generated.
Measuring productivity, or determining methods of increasing productivity in the documentation industry is not a simple task. This is largely due to the fact that the disciplines in documentation are a combination of "science" and "art". The technical aspect forming the "science" part, and the writing and illustrating naturally forming the "art" part.
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