By AnsweringPhoneServices.com
Software technical writing is one career where a writer can shine and make a lucrative wage. Let's take an inside look at what the job involves. Key to success in technical writing is your ability to research, interview experts and translate a technical subject into more-or-less layman's language.
You need to be conversant in technical terminology, and possess excellent interpersonal communications skills. Your audience may be technical, but quite often is an ordinary consumer with little to no technical background. The challenge in technical writing is to use plain language and step-by-step instructions to show your reader how to use the software.
Bridging the gap between the person using the software and the engineering team who created the program is a difficult task at best. Technical writing is a specialized niche in the writers' market. Your interviewing skills make all the difference in a successful project.
Let's say the project you're assigned is a user's manual for a word processing program. Although your reader probably won't know or care that the program accesses other programs or system utilities while running, you must know all of the interactions in order to produce accurate documentation.
Otherwise, you face the embarrassing post-production risk of finding the program bombs when the user follows your instructions! You are usually given engineering specifications and documentation. Unfortunately, the documentation may contain gaps and outright omissions. In technical writing assignments, it's the responsibility of the writer to recognize and ferret out all the relevant information.
First, read all materials you are given. Prepare lists of questions for each source, then contact each for an interview. Be as thorough as possible in this first phase. Never be afraid to ask "Why?" Technical writing requires a reporter's investigative thinking skills. The "why" questions yield the inside scoop and affects the organization and delivery of information to your reader.
When conducting interviews, you're dealing with people who are as busy as you are. Make the most of the time. Develop a rapport with each person. Use a professional, to-the-point approach. You'll find your sources more willing to answer your calls promptly, with the answers you need.
Engineers tend to convey information in jargon-laden technical terms, useless to your reader. You need to filter their knowledge into layman's terms and write instructions such that all bases are covered, yet transparent to your reader.
Successful technical writing requires that the end user has a flawless experience. Do not confuse your reader with irrelevant information. Do provide everything necessary to facilitate complete and accurate results.
When you've completed your first draft, beta test! Deliver your manual to in-house users to test your documentation. Solicit feedback, include a reader comment sheet, and iron out any inconsistencies. Use feedback to perfect your product.
This is the cheat sheet for rave reviews and user satisfaction, which is the ultimate goal of technical writing!
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