Musings of a Technical Writer and other stories
Software User Documentation is often a last minute effort to deliver your software product and get it out the door. Your development team had a long list of requirements, so the documentation sometimes gets downsized in importance or it is sometimes neglected completely.
Continue reading “10 tips for Software Development managers about user documentation”
I bring this article to you courtesy of Marcia Weedon, as I think it adds relevance to what I am setting out to achieve with my documentation framework. You may view the original article here.
THE WELL WRITTEN SOP – CRITICAL FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT BY MARCIA WEEDEN
The well-written SOP provides the baseline against which thoughtful and effective improvements can be planned and implemented.
Many companies put off documenting their processes and procedures because they are too sheepish to admit that these are not yet in a state of perfection. Perfection, however, is never a requirement for the well-written SOP.
I bring this article to you courtesy of Marcia Weedon, as I think it adds relevance to my documentation framework. You may view the original article here.
THE VALUE OF DOCUMENTED PROCESSES BY MARCIA WEEDON
Most companies start small with a dream of what they would like to become someday. Small companies take pride in “we wear many hats around here.” With relatively simple, straightforward processes and a few key personnel, it is easy to make changes and keep the business going.
Like any profession, becoming a technical writer requires a mastery of a certain set of skills. This skill set used to involve primarily writing and illustration skills, as large manuals for print publication were the standard in the profession. The worlds of communications and technology have evolved dramatically in the latter part of the 20th century and the early part of this century. How has that evolution affected the skill set required for a technical writer?
The Society for Technical Communication (STC), the professional organization for technical writers, is involved in a movement to re-classify technical writers as technical communicators. A similar effort is also underway in the United Kingdom. To some technical writers, this movement is a bit contrary to their self-image as professional writers, while others welcome the change and agree that technical writers are increasingly tasked with creating technical communications in a growing variety of mediums beyond the written word.