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Competences
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documentation competence
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You should know the ropes when creating and editing technical documents.
You don’t need to make all mistakes yourself but you should be able to
learn from the mistakes of others.
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Some technical documents just have to meet the demands, such as documents
for approval or for servicing purposes. The reader anticipates bare
matter-of-fact information here. Presentation should be well-arranged but
this is no imperative. On the other hand, there is a host of technical
documents to meet the reader’s need for operating technical devices. A
good design of the document can be the crucial factor if or if not the
user will cope handling a piece of equipment.
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Few or no instructions are necessary for a well-designed device. Its
operation is explained from itself. With an elaborate design, the user
discovers all necessary operational steps, or he or she may be guided,
e. g. by instructions on a display. So the instruction manual can
as well be part of the device. The technical writer should be involved
in the design of a device in order to keep its operation logical and
consistent.
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It is always astounding how low the acceptance of manuals or help screens
by the user actually is. There must be a lack of faith in the instructions
given in a manual. Sure some deterring instances of badly translated
manuals from Asia have made for this. The main reason might be a tendency
to skimp on proper documentation and at best to fulfil only the minimum
requirements.
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media competence
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All communication media offer different potentials but make also different
demands. The tech writer should know and master the potentials and demands
of the medium that he or she is dealing with.
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Print media are used separately from technical devices. They offer
a way for the reader to immerse into the functionality of a piece of
equipment and to learn details of knowledge, e. g. for technical
relationships. A printed document is a closed universe where quick and
random access to all topics is provided by means of indexes and cross
references. You need to change the medium for external reference to another
printed document, to a page on the internet or to a multimedia product such
as a sound file or video file.
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Online or offline media feature instructions displayed on a
computer monitor. Usually they are structured similar to printed information.
Examples for these are the typical help screens or documents viewed using
an internet browser. They offer handy and clear user guidance by means of
linking and structural views, plus you can access external sources such as
web pages directly.
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Using single source publishing it is possible to manage both these
types of media in the same source document efficiently and consistently.
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You will need a content management system to fulfil both the
requirements of different target media and multilingual documentation. Due
to the large capital investment for a highly productive system for central
document management, it is necessary to ponder on the chance that the
anticipated advantage will be worth the cost.
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Sound files and video files are other types of media. Sound files
are reasonable in particular for visually challenged persons but may in
the form of audio books be of interest for everyone. Video files
can assist to explain operational procedures on screen but make high
demands on their production. A script must be written for each topic which
then has to be implemented, using graphical presentation, or in a costly
shooting possibly performed by actors.
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technical competence
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As the name “technical writer” suggests, skills for the
comprehension of technical circumstances are needed in order to create
technical documents. This may be the right profession for you if you find
it easy to operate technical devices, and it can be of avail to have
professional experience in other industries. This expands the writer's
knowledge horizon and improves his or her comprehension.
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electronics competence
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It is not necessary to know all the construction details of a device in
order to create general documents for it. But knowledge of principles
and relationships in electronics is beneficial to write technical
descriptions, e. g. for a service manual, and to estimate the
coherence of a text.
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A technician or engineer who authors the description of an electronic
assembly will use a variety of technical terms, often in a jargon similar
to aviation lingo. The technical writer has to maintain a consistent and
comprehensible terminology, so the reader will not be confused by terms
used with different meanings. A knowledgeable writer will also be able to
uncover and correct occasional contradictions quickly and without further
inquiry.
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More competences for:
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Technical Documentation
Image Processing
Content Management
Translation
Audio Processing
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Good engineering deserves best documentation
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engage Heuss !
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