How a Technical Writer Helps You? by Janice Cadel

How a Technical Writer Helps You

Janice Cadel, PMP®

Executive Management | Technical Publications Management &Writing| Project Management Expert | Communications Management

Imagine one of these scenarios:

• You just purchased an Outdoor Food Prep Station and need to assemble it
• You started a new job at a restaurant and need to learn how to use the Point-of-Sale (POS)
• You purchased the POS software and need to configure it for your restaurant
• You are a developer at a hotel chain and need to extend the services of property management application your company is using with a third-party reservations application

Whether you are an average consumer or an employee needing to use software to do your job, you depend on the services of a good Technical Writer to be successful in completing your goal. Let’s explore this some more.

You just opened the box for the Outdoor Prep Station. It contains 79 assorted parts, and you need to put it together so that you have it in time for a party you having that weekend.

The Technical Writer at the company that manufactured the Outdoor Food Prep Station understands that you want to put this together as quickly and easily as possible. That writer keeps you in mind when formulating the plan to create the pamphlet that came with your merchandise. In this case, the writer wants to provide you with a list of the parts that lets you first check to make sure you have everything you need and you understand the scope of the task. The writer would then provide you with step-by-step assembly instructions, complete with figures, that you can rely on to ensure you are building it correctly.  The writer would include a picture of the finished product so that you can compare it to your finished product. In some cases, the writer may include troubleshooting information or a way to contact the company with questions. In summary, the goal of the writer is to provide you with the right level of content for you to build your Prep Station.

In the next scenario, you are using software to accomplish a job task. As a server, you need to enter the food order so that the staffs in the kitchen need to prepare the food. It’s Day One on the job for you, and you walk over to the POS and forget everything you had been taught in training the previous week. You just stare at the screen. Then, the lightbulb goes on over your head, and you remember that you can refer to the documentation. 

This scenario is similar to the scenario of the consumer building the Prep Station but differs because you are using software to accomplish a task. The Technical Writer at the company that created the POS software understands the different tasks you need to complete in order for you to do your job. The writer knows you are working in a fast-paced industry and needs to find information you need as quick and easily as possible. For example, you received a tip from a customer and need to share that tip with another restaurant employee. The writer will write a procedure that shows you the steps you need to take to enter your tip and then share it with the other employee. In some cases, a company likes to use interesting marketing terms on functionality as a selling point, but the writer will use standard industry terms and simple language so you can find the information using a simple search. In some cases, the writer may choose to use a short video to take you through the steps. In either case, the Technical Writer’s job is to ensure that you can find the information you need and then read or view it to do your job.

Technical Writers need to write more than procedures. In the next scenario, the Technical Writer needs to help the user configure the POS software. The user in this scenario could be a restaurant owner or manager and may not be tech savvy. Let’s call this user, George. George is opening his first restaurant. He has worked in the restaurant industry and is familiar with POS software, but he never had to configure a POS application himself. George decides to take on the challenge and configure menu items. In order to best serve George, the Technical Writer needs to provide George with everything George needs to consider before even starting the task. The writer lays the foundation for George to plan and then execute on his plan.

In the first two scenarios, the Technical Writer provided more procedural content. In the scenario with George, the Technical Writer needed to provide more contextual content. George depends on the writer to help him get organized so that when he is ready to start configuring the POS software, he can easily follow the procedures in the documentation with a greater opportunity that he will be successful on the first try and will easily be able to make updates at a later time.

In the last scenario, your job is to extend the property management application to a third-party reservation system so that potential customers that use the reservation system can make reservations at your hotel. The Technical Writer at the company that created the property management application must provide author content that enables you to use the API to connect to the reservation system. In this situation, the Technical Writer takes into account that you have a technical aptitude and are interested in learning about authentication, base URLs, services, and parameters. The Technical Writer will provide you with documentation containing that information along with use cases and samples that provide you with a foundation to apply them to your requirements.

In all four scenarios, the common theme and basic skill set of the Technical Writer knows his or her audience. The Technical Writer is in essence your guardian angel whose sole purpose is to help you accomplish a task or do your job by providing you with the right amount of information in a format that is easy for you to use and understand. A good Technical Writer can use the right words, graphics, format, and output to turn your challenging task into something you can complete with ease.